Yearly properly appraisals are mandatory for different states in the United States. However, some do it every two years or so.

1. Are chief appraisers competing to see who can get the largest increases in 2019?
Yearly properly appraisals are mandatory for different states in the United States. However,
some do it every two years or so.
Normally, appraisal notices are sent out to every owner of taxable properties on January 1 of
each year. Then they have the right to protest their assessed value usually because it’s deemed
too high.
Indeed, there have been several appraisal districts like Harrison County Appraisal District in
Texas that has jack up appraisal values of thousands of homes.
Is this the new trend?
Increased Appraisal Values
Property owners under the appraisal services of HCAD have likely seen an immense increase in
their appraisal value. Based on a sample of 54,612 houses, a full 22% has shown an increase
of an average of 28%. This is incredibly high compared to the 3% increase of Houston
Association Realtors.
Since HCAD is the biggest appraisal district in the state of Texas, this begs the question if the
chief appraisers are competing with each other to get the largest increase.
It's stressful, to say the least. You suddenly see n increase in your appraisal value all of a
sudden. To make matters worse, this could also affect your property tax. A high percentage of
appraisal value could mean you're going to pay a much higher property tax.
That’s the reason why you should protest your property tax especially when you a sudden
increase in your home’s value. Most of the time, you can check the increase of your neighbors.
If you are suspicious about your property’s increased rate, you can send out a filled up notice of
protest form that comes with your appraisal notice.

2. How do these appraisers appraise your home?
Anyone who appraises a property should collect data from the property. They should check if
there are any changes in construction, the age of the building if it expanded or not. These are
only a few factors they should check.
However, chief appraisals often have thousands of properties they have to assess in a year.
That said, they don't have enough manpower to cover all of these properties. That's why some
are shocked to see such an increase when they have barely touched their homes.
These appraisal districts calculate your property's value based on several factors and methods.
For example, they would take into consideration the cost of constructing a similar property like
yours in today's market.
This may be the reason why they have come up with great increases this 2019.
Since you have the right to protest your property, it can be safe to say there’s no competition
going on between appraisers. Still, it’s best that you always check why there’s a sudden
increase.
Conclusion
It is a great shock to see even just 10% increase of your property especially in the span of a
year. This also brings the financial burden of a higher property tax.
However, it's now much easier to protest. With better preparation, you can win the protest, and
this can help you save thousands of dollars in the long run.