- Home
- Government
- Elected Officials
- Commissioner of Revenue
- Real Estate
- General Reassessment
General Reassessment
Reassessment is the process by which the assessed value of real estate within the county is revised to reflect fair market value. Adjustments in value are necessary to reflect the current real estate market in order to equitably distribute the tax burden among the citizens of the county. The purpose of reassessments is not to increase taxes, but to provide uniformity between assessed properties and an assessment of value in line with the real estate market at the current time of assessment. The tax rates will be equalized by the Board of Supervisors in response to the reassessments.
Madison County conducts a general reassessment every six years. The previous reassessment was completed in 2019. For the 2025 Reassessment, Madison County selected Wingate Appraisal Service to be the Assessor.
In accordance with State requirements, the Wingate Appraisal assessment team inspected every parcel within Madison County to establish the current fair market value of the real estate. This included researching the most recent sale data within the County, personally visiting the land, and contacting owners to verify information if there were any questions. The 2025 Reassessment was effective January 1, 2025. 2025 Reassessment value notices were mailed to all Madison County landowners the week of February 18th.
The 2025 Reassessment hearings with the Assessors concluded on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025. Appeals made during the Assessor hearings had their results mailed no later than March 31st, 2025.
Board of Equalization (BOE) hearings concluded on December 31, 2025. Advertisements of the application process and hearing dates were posted through MadRapp (now the Piedmont Journal Recorder) and on the County's News section (found on the Homepage). For more information on the appeal process with the BOE, please visit their webpage here: Board of Equalization | Madison County, VA
2025 Reassessment values are in place until the next General Reassessment, should there be no changes to the real property. Property owners wishing to appeal their 2025 reassessed value can now do so by scheduling a hearing with the Madison County Circuit Court.
Find and select the parcel of interest to review values. Current assessment information is available via the Concise Property Card link per parcel on the WebGIS. The Verified Sale Data reflects the most current market sales trends at the time of assessment.
Reassessment value change notices were mailed the week of February 18th, 2025. Notices included the new assessed value as well as the prior two years' values along with information on the appeal process.
The deadline to appeal to the Assessors was March 5th, 2025.
After March 5th, landowners may appeal to the Board of Equalization (BOE) up to a year from the assessment date.
Landowners may also appeal to the Circuit Court without first appealing to the Assessor or BOE. Circuit Court appeals are judicial proceedings that are made to the Clerk of the Court.
The Assessor’s Hearings on the Reassessment were held in the Madison County Administration Building auditorium at 414 N Main St, Madison. Appointments would have been made during the following dates and times. Due to the thousands of notices mailed, we expected the phone lines to be busy and appreciated your patience. Messages were returned in the order in which they were received.
Tuesday | February 25 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | Monday | March 3 | 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM | |
Wednesday | February 26 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | Tuesday | March 4 | 1:00 PM – 6:30 PM | |
Thursday | February 27 | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Wednesday | March 5 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM |
Property owners who appealed their assessment to the Assessors will be notified of the appeal results via mail by March 31, 2025.
The results of the 2025 Reassessment generally show a larger assessment increase in single family homes than previous reassessments. The last General Reassessment for Madison County was effective for 2019 (six years ago) and for several reasons over the years since, the demand for rural properties has been robust. An under supply of properties offered for sale coupled with the rising cost of construction inputs, such as labor and materials, have contributed to an uncharacteristically large increase in prices. Consequently, assessments from the 2019 Reassessment generally have fallen short of current sale prices.
This is not to say that all properties followed this trend, but the graphic below may help to visualize how aggressive the residential market has been over the last six years. The work for the last general reassessment was conducted in 2018 (effective for 2019), with sales from the 2018 real estate market being used as the benchmarks for the assessments. As shown below, the average sales price in 2018 was $228,242. Today, that average is $416,783, marking a significant 82.6% increase from the 2018 market. This surge does not reflect individual property appreciation, but rather the overall market trend.
- What is the purpose of a reassessment?
-
State law requires all localities to evaluate property tax values to ensure that they are in line with current fair market value and assure uniformity of assessments with similar properties.
- How often does Madison County conduct reassessments?
-
Madison County traditionally conducts reassessments every six years. Reassessments may take place at intervals spanning from one to six years. Per Virginia Code § 58.1-3253 “the governing body of any county or city may, by ordinance duly adopted, provide for the annual assessment and equalization of real estate for local taxation.”
- How was the re-assessment conducted?
-
The process began in Spring of 2024 with a study of qualified real estate sales since the last assessment in 2019. Emphasis was given to the most recent 2024 sales, but older sales of more unique properties or properties with little market activity would also be considered. As analysis continued, supportable conclusions for calibrations to value models were made and implemented in the County’s valuation software. Members of Wingate Appraisal Service also personally visited each parcel in Madison County to account for physical condition. The property visits to verify data were completed by December 2024.
- Are all sales considered in determining the real estate market?
-
Generally, sales are considered if they are between a “willing buyer” and a “willing seller” in a competitive market. Most sales fall into that category. However, the assessor might exclude sales from consideration if they are much higher or lower than typical sales in the marketplace. Excluded sales might represent sales under duress (such as from a foreclosure), or they may represent acquisitions made at a premium because of factors unique to a buyer’s situation.