1 in 4 Douglas County homeowners file property value appeals

It's been a busy few months for new Douglas County Assessor Toby Damisch. As his office deals with an unprecedented number of appeals over property values. 

"We had appeals in every single neighborhood," Damisch said. "Our staff have worked very hard to review every single appeal that's come in. Nights, weekends, haven't seen a lot of their families."

It comes after he released this year's reappraisal in May, where home values in the county increased by an average of 48%. 

"This reappraisal timed precisely with the market increase that we had in residential property. The appraisal date for this reappraisal is June 30 of 2022, and the two years preceding that we saw the largest increase in residential real estate really in any two-year period in history," Damisch said. 

It will likely mean a drastic increase in property taxes. 

"An average property in Douglas County that went up say 45%, unless the local governments reduce their mill levies, they'd be looking at a 40% increase in taxes. So, a very large amount, a record amount," Damisch said. 

Many Douglas County residents are very concerned about that sudden spike in their taxes. Over 36,000 of them filed property value appeals with Damisch's office, with 31,000 of those being residential properties. That's about one in four homeowners in Douglas County. Damisch estimates it's more than twice the office's previous record for appeals. 

Parker homeowner Geoffrey Maduzia was one of the residents who filed an appeal. 

"It was fairly simple. It was online and I just filled out the form and used the report that my realtor provided," said Maduzia. 

 A county appraiser reviewed each appeal and sent out decisions last month. 

"That appraiser would review the appeal including the information provided by the property owner and make a determination whether all that data supported the current value or not," Damisch said. 

For 41%, they reduced the home's value. 

"The average adjustment was between 7% and 7.5% or about $50,000," Damisch said. 

But three out of five homeowners who appealed were denied. 

"So this is the paperwork I got," said Maduzia."'Denial.' That's all it says." 

But it's not the end of the road, residents whose initial appeal was denied, may have another chance: the County Board of Equalization. 

Maduzia plans to take his appeal to the next level. Residents will need to file an appeal with the County Board of Equalization by Sept. 15. County commissioners will hear appeals in September and October. 

Keep in mind, these property values are used to calculate taxes for next year. CBS News Colorado won't know the final property tax picture until after the November election, when constituents will vote on local mill levies.