Growing Tax Protest Trend Saved Johnson County Residents $303 Million in Value

O'Connor discusses how the growing tax protest trend saved Johnson County residents $303 million in value.

CLEBURNE , TX, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ --


The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States. Tarrant and Dallas counties may act as the centerpiece, but there are many other counties that create the iconic DFW area. Denton and Collin counties have become two of the most expensive and hippest areas in Texas and now act as overpriced suburbs to the core cities. Johnson County, on the other hand, is in many ways closer to the DFW outskirts of old. While still developing, Johnson County also has the rural charm of previous generations. Aligned more with Fort Worth than Dallas, Johnson County acts as the perfect escape from the urban sprawl of DFW.

While it may not have the costs of Dallas, Denton, or Collin, Johnson County is still seeing a giant spike in property values and taxes. Both people and businesses are flocking to the area in search of lower taxes, which, ironically, makes values and taxes increase. Johnson County property values have nearly doubled in the past decade, forcing more residents to use property tax appeals. While the use of protests is still in its infancy, those taxpayers that have used them have seen significant results, which in turn helped lower the total taxable value. Now that both informal and formal protests have been completed, we can examine just how much protestors were able to save in 2025.

Residential Properties Shed Over $185 Million in Taxable Value

In 2024, it was estimated that over 57% of Johnson County homes were overvalued. While both taxpayers and the Johnson County Central Appraisal District (JCAD) have worked on improving this, there is still a long way to go. Combined appeals were able to reduce the total taxable value of homes by 0.9%, resulting in a sum of $19.65 billion. Despite a decrease of 0.8%, homes worth between $250,000 and $500,000 still managed to reach a value of $10.59 billion, the most in the county. These were followed by homes worth between $500,000 and $750,000, which was reduced 1.3% to $4.05 billion. Homes under $250,000 were cut by 0.3%, which resulted in a total of $3.02 billion. When homeowners chose O’Connor, they saw improved numbers across the board. We were able to deliver our clients a total cut of 3.6%.

While there are some luxury homes and ranches in Johnson County, most homes are of modest size. Following a reduction of 1.1%, homes measured between 2,000 and 3,999 square feet totaled $9.75 billion. In second place were homes under 2,000 square feet with $8.77 billion. These modest homes experienced a cut of 0.6%. Homes from 4,000 to 5,999 square feet were reduced through appeals by 1.3%, reaching a total of $891.94 million. Even the biggest of mansions got a great reduction, with a significant slice of 4.9% bringing their final tally to $121.07 million.

Much of Texas saw a building boom between 2001 and 2020, and Johnson County was no exception. 37.9% of residential value was constructed in this timeframe, resulting in a total of $7.52 billion. This was later protested down 0.9% to $7.45 billion. New construction was in second place with $3.65 billion, and that figure was achieved even after a decrease of 1.8%. Following a cut of 0.6%, homes built from 1981 to 2000 still managed a sum of$3.39 billion. Even older homes showed significant value, with those built from 1961 to 1980 totaling $2.25 billion after a reduction of 0.5%.

Businesses Properties Received a Reduction of 2.4%

Commercial properties tend to protest their taxable value more than homes, usually doing so every year to act as a cost-cutting measure. JCAD initially assessed all commercial real estate with a combined total of $4.99 billion. After two rounds of appeals, this was reduced by 2.4% to $4.87 billion. Johnson County was unusual when it came to commercial values, as they were generally broken up evenly between businesses of various sizes. Usually, most value is concentrated on properties worth over $5 million. However, the largest property category in 2025 was businesses worth between $1 million and $5 million, which totaled $1.39 billion following a reduction of 1%. Commercial properties worth under $500,000 saw a cut of 0.2%, reaching $1.39 billion. Properties worth over $5 million got a large decrease of 7.6%, falling to $1.17 billion. Business owners that joined O’Connor achieved a total reduction of 4%.

Due to its untapped potential, the No.1 commercial real estate in the county was raw land with $3.30 billion in value. This land got a decrease of 1.2%, generating solid savings. Warehouses were the No. 1 developed property type, landing a total of $543.96 million after a good cut of 2.3%. The largest reduction was seen by apartments with 10.8%, which enabled these multifamily homes to drop to $478.78 million. Offices and retail spaces saw decreases of 0.5% and 1.7% respectively. Generally, the fastest-growing category for Texas in 2025, hotels got a reduction of 7.5%, resulting in a final sum of $37.90 million.

Commercial properties in the county somewhat bucked trends again when it came to timeframes of construction. While the period of 2001 to 2020 was still No. 1 with $663.72 million after a reduction of 4.4%, it was not the runaway leader it is in my counties. New construction totaled $396.88 million following a large cut of 9.8%, while those built from 1981 to 2000 dropped 0.6% to $293.53 million. Businesses built before 1960 experienced a reduction of 0.6%, while those constructed between 1961 and 1980 fell by 1.7%. The “other” category was for raw land, which saw a decrease of 1.2%.

Apartments Reduce Their Value by 10.8%

Apartments are usually the No. 1 commercial property in Texas counties, but their prevalence in Johnson is a rather recent occurrence. Initially assessed at $536.67 million by JCAD, combined protests were able to shrink the total by 10.8%, producing a final sum of $478.78 million. 83% of all apartment value was built between 2001 and 2025. New construction led the way with $226.42 million, which was achieved after a huge reduction of 12.5%. Apartments built from 2001 to 2020 were in second place with $172.25 million. This figure was achieved thanks to another large cut of 12.6%.

JCAD only divided apartments into two categories. Generic apartments were No. 1 with a combined value of $407.41 million, which was possible thanks to a decrease of 11.6%. Garden apartments saw a cut of 6%, for a final sum of $71.37 million.

Offices Find Some Relief Thanks to Protests

Though not to the extent of apartments, most office construction in Johnson County is recent as well. Of the $350.96 million total, 67.5% was built between 2001 and 2025. While offices built from 2001 to 2020 did not see any reduction from protests, new construction did see a cut of 1.2%. These two categories had post-appeal totals of $139.48 million and $97.44 million respectively. Offices constructed between 1981 and 2000 got a reduction of 1.2%, falling to $73.64 million. The overall value of offices experienced a reduction of 0.5%.

Like apartments, JCAD only used two subtypes for offices. Low-rise offices got a reduction of 0.3%, reaching a final sum of $350.97 million. Medical offices got a larger reduction of 1.7%, cutting their total to $49.09 million.

Retail Stores of All Types Saved $2.76 Million with Appeals

After a total value of $159.97 million being assessed, retail stores managed to use appeals to get a reduction of 1.7%. Due to their very nature, retail spaces did not quite follow the recency bias of other property types, but they did still trend in that direction. Following a decrease of 0.9%, stores built from 2001 to 2020 achieved a total of $49.71 million. In the No. 2 slot were retail spaces constructed between 1961 and 1980, which produced a value of $54.25 million after receiving the largest cut with 3.5%. Stores from 1981 to 2000 took third place with $30.60 million after a decrease of just 0.1%. New construction received a cut of 2.6% but still managed to reach $24.37 million.

The ubiquitous Texas strip center was the No. 1 type of retail property responsible for a total of $130.84 million after receiving a decrease of 1.5%. Neighborhood shopping centers landed a substantial cut of 3.9%, resulting in a final figure of $18.13 million. Big box stores saw no meaningful reduction or increase.

Warehouses See Key Reductions in Recent Construction

Outside of raw land, warehouses were the most valuable commercial property according to JCAD. Following a solid reduction of 2.3%, these storage paragons achieved a grand total of $543.96 million. Construction from 2001 to 2020 led the way with $268.59 million, which was possible thanks to a decrease of 1.1%. Warehouses from 1981 to 2000 only managed to lower their value by 0.4%, for a final tally of $126.99 million. New construction accounted for $114.80 million, which was impressive considering it saw a reduction of 7.4%.

There were three types of warehouses according to JCAD. Generic warehouses took the top spot with $300.96 million, which was thanks to a cut of 2.3%. With a reduction of 1.9%, office warehouses reached $137.09 million, while mini warehouses saw the largest decrease with 2.7%, resulting in a final figure of $105.91 million.

About O'Connor:
O’Connor is one of the largest property tax consulting firms, representing 185,000 clients in 49 states and Canada, handling about 295,000 protests in 2024, with residential property tax reduction services in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, and New York. O’Connor’s possesses the resources and market expertise in the areas of property tax, cost segregation, commercial and residential real estate appraisals. The firm was founded in 1974 and employs a team of 1,000 worldwide. O’Connor’s core focus is enriching the lives of property owners through cost effective tax reduction.

Property owners interested in assistance appealing their assessment can enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program ™. There is no upfront fee, or any fee unless we reduce your property taxes, and easy online enrollment only takes 2 to 3 minutes.

Patrick O'Connor, President
O'Connor
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