Albemarle County assessments increased again in 2026.

• Want to challenge your assessment? Here’s the form.
• Curious about FAQs about Albemarle County assessments, here’s the FAQ.
• Think your assessment is too high or too low? Ask me; I’m happy to give a quick thought or two.

Assessments ? Appraisals? Market value? Zestimates. Each of these has a different method and use case.

• Assessments = what your taxes are, and often a many-months-back look at valuations. By state code (as noted elsewhere in this thread), they are supposed to be 100% of market value.
• Appraisal = what an appraiser says your home is worth. Usually looks at < 6 months of comps. Used by banks to validate fair market value
• Market Value = what a ready, willing, and able buyer will pay and what a ready, willing, able, non-distressed* seller is willing to accept. The * is there because during the crash, we had so many distressed sales that we used foreclosures and short sales as valid comps
• Zestimate – what Zillow’s algorithm says. In 2011, I luckily took a screenshot of zillow’s county-level accuracy; now I can find only their metro-level accuracy disclosures.
• • Last year, someone reached out to me asking for help challenging his assessment as he thought it too high. He was disappointed when I quickly showed that if anything, his house was under-assessed. 🙂

Cobbling together several stories from years past …

You’ve gotten your 2024 real estate assessments. What does it mean?

It means that that is the value on which you pay your real estate taxes

It means that you might be able to sell your home for that number.

Or higher.

Or lower.

My answer in 2023, with 2024 updates

Assessments are not a reflection of market value. They are a backward-looking assessment of what the market value may have been at the time the assessor looked at the house (most likely online, and not in person). The assessor may or may not know the condition of the property, the condition of the property’s neighbors, may not consider the traffic noise, crime stats, proximity of sexual offenders, level of inventory, smell of the neighborhood, etc. etc. etc. Assessments are why you pay taxes on. (that’s from 2011, and it’s still accurate)

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And from 2023:

Real Estate Assessments in Charlottesville & Albemarle

A client emailed:

“I just received my Notice of Real Estate Assessment from the county and thought it might be interesting to have you explain your thoughts about this. At first, I’m excited because my asset’s value has increased and yay me! Then I take a second to think, oh this means my taxes are going to go up, not so yay. I know last year I called in to see about questioning it and got nowhere, so probably won’t attempt that again.”

Assessments go up. Assessments go down. In Albemarle and Charlottesville, properties are reassessed every year. This year, Albemarle was up 13.46% and Charlottesville up 12.33%. Some localities reassess less frequently: Madison County looks to reassess every six years. Imagine that shock.

A few thoughts on real estate assessments

Virginia Code says that real estate assessments are supposed to be 100% of fair market value. In reality, sometimes assessed values are higher than market value, sometimes lower, sometimes close enough to be considered accurate.

Assessments are a backward-looking valuation, and given the recent market shift, the value that was placed on a house today, looking at yesterday’s data, might be inaccurate. This was the case also when assessed values and market values were declining.

One key point is that people using Zillow’s zestimate as an argument, for or against an assessment, are using a completely not transparent, often not accurate, valuation, that often will necessarily shift much faster than assessed values.

I don’t remember people complaining about declining assessed values as vociferously as they are complaining about increasing ones. I’ve seen discussions on Twitter, Reddit, and Nextdoor (god help me).

If your assessment feels off, ask me. I would be happy to run some quick comps for you to help you get a better feel as to whether appealing would be reasonable. I believe the appeal process is free.

Real estate property assessments pay for our schools. In Albemarle County, 50 % of the budget goes to schools, and 42-47% of that comes from property taxes.

Real estate assessments directly affect localities’ budgets. Simple.

And, the press release from Albemarle County

Albemarle County 2026 Reassessment Complete

This month, Albemarle County announced the results of the annual reassessment process. The County’s total tax base increased by 6.17% over the 2025 year-end tax base due to the reassessment. The 2026 residential assessment changes are the result of continued appreciation in the housing market. Commercial assessment changes varied by property type but experienced an average increase of 3.0%.

Each year, as part of the routine assessment process, County staff reviews approximately 20% of county properties. This year, staff completed detailed reviews of over 16,000 properties. Individual neighborhoods and sections of the county change at different rates, so assessments of individual properties can vary widely from the overall average.

Notices were mailed to taxpayers on January 23. The 2026 assessment data is currently available online through the County’s GIS-Web.

Overall, taxable assessment changes by property type for 2026 are:

• Urban Residential (County Water & Sewer): +5.4%
• Residential up to 20 acres: +8.1%
• Rural (20 to 99.99 acres): +7.5%
• Rural (100 acres and over):+7.1%
• Commercial Properties: +3.0%
• Multi-Family: +4.6%

Average annual reassessment changes by magisterial district are:

• Rio: +4.5%
• Jack Jouett: +8.3%
• Rivanna: +3.6%
• Samuel Miller: +9.8%
• Scottsville: +5.8%
• Town of Scottsville:+4.1%
• White Hall: +5.3%

The first half 2026 real estate tax bills that are mailed in May will be based on the 2026 reassessment value and the 2026 tax rate that will be adopted by the Board of Supervisors in April.

Please direct any questions regarding the new assessment notice to the Office of the County Assessor by calling 434-296-5856.

Appeals

There are two appeal processes, an administrative review and a Board of Equalization appeal. It is recommended that property owners contact the Assessor’s office first to find out information about their assessment. Then, if necessary, the administrative review process can be initiated by filing the Administrative Review form, which is now available online through March 2. The Administrative Review form must be filed by March 2. The Board of Equalization appeal can be filed by contacting the assessor’s office for an application that must be submitted by March 30, or 30 days after the results of an Administrative Review, whichever is later.

Land Use Taxation Program

The land use deadline structure has two parts. The initial period to apply for 2026 ended on January 1, 2026. If the notice mailed on January 23 indicates an increase in assessment or a parcel was newly created for 2026, then the Assessor’s Office will accept an application for qualifying properties to enter the Land Use Tax Deferral Program, with the $125 application fee, through February 24. A new application is required for each parcel to enroll in the program. Property owners can find additional information on the back of their notice of assessment. The application fee is non-refundable, so contact the Assessor’s Office for assistance in advance if needed.