The median value of a home in Williamson County reached its lowest point since 2022, according to Alvin Lankford, chief appraiser for the Williamson Central Appraisal District.
Lankford presented his findings at the June 11 City Council meeting. Countywide median home values fell from $422,218 in 2025 to $401,808 in 2026.
In Taylor, the median home value dropped from $294,418 to $273,426. Even though Taylor added 158 new homes, most in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, the overall taxable value of residential properties dropped.
While only 7.85 percent of properties on the tax roll are commercial, they account for 53.35 percent of the city’s taxable value. The total market value of Taylor real estate rose from $5.73 billion in 2025 to $6.05 billion this year, Lankford said. Of that, $5.4 billion is the taxable value.
The red line shows median home values for Williamson County residences and the blue line shows Taylor residential properties. Source: Williamson Central Appraisal District
The appraisal district received 30,000 property appraisal appeals this year, most of them submitted through tax agents rather than directly by property owners. Lankford said property owners may benefit from filing their own appeal rather than using a company that specializes in appeals.
“Tax agents get a median tax savings of between $30 and $59, before the fees they charge. Property owners who are doing their own appeal save an average of $143,” he said.
He said the average amount seems low because it includes appeals on properties that are already at market value and receive no savings.
CITY SIGNS FOREIGN-TRADE ZONE LETTER The council voted to sign a no-objection letter allowing Soulbrain RASA TX LLC to be included in Foreign-Trade Zone No. 183, which serves the Austin area.
If the company is accepted into the trade zone, it could avoid certain customs and inventory taxes. The tax break is estimated to cost the city $24,956 a year once the company reaches full operations in 2034.
Soulbrain, 201 FM 3349, is building a $175 million chemical manufacturing facility in the RCR Taylor Logistic Park. The South Korea-based company will produce phosphoric acid for Samsung Austin Semiconductor and other semiconductor clients.
Taylor Economic Development Corp. CEO Ben White said even though Taylor will be giving up some tax revenue, it will still receive property tax revenues from land, buildings, improvements and equipment as well as sales and use tax revenues from business operations.
THIRD STREET APARTMENTS APPROVED
After several appearances before the council, an apartment project at 1019 and 1021 W. Third St. won approval for a special use permit and can move ahead with site development.
The project calls for 21 apartments on a 0.43acre site in an older, established part of town. Community members spoke out about putting a proposed three-story building housing more than 20 families on the small lot, saying it would change the character of their neighborhood and affect infrastructure including drainage and transportation.
The developer agreed to lower the building from three stories to two. Two community members told the council the change answered their biggest concern about how the building would fit the neighborhood.
Council member Shelli Cobb said even with the changes, she had concerns about adding highdensity housing to the fragile infrastructure in that neighborhood.
“I went door to door in that area and talked to several people. Most of them are renting the home they live in and don’t feel like they have a say in this. None of the people were happy. There are problems and issues there that I think we need to make sure we consider when looking at putting so many people on the spot on that corner,” Cobb said.
Council member Kelly Cmerek commended the developer for listening to the community and working with city staff to make the project less intrusive.
“To me it’s a win. Is it perfect? No, but he’s building a lot less than is allowed by our code,” Cmerek said.
CITY TO STUDY PROBLEM INTERSECTIONS A request for stronger traffic measures at Howard Street and West Lake Drive became the starting point for Police Chief Joseph Chacon to recommend the Taylor Police Department create a traffic management policy to handle similar requests. Chacon said he prefers to make decisions based on hard data, so Taylor police analyzed reported auto collisions over the past few years in the Howard and West Lake area.
He also used the Taylor police speed trailer for four days on both West Lake Drive and Howard Street. Then his department conducted a public survey to see how residents felt about putting a stop sign in that area.
Of the 500 responses to the survey, 60 percent were against adding a stop sign at the corner.
Cobb said one resident of that area who has been requesting a stop sign said his mailbox has been hit so often he had to get special permission to move the post office box farther from the street. Cobb said those types of accidents may not be counted in the traffic data Chacon had.
Chacon said his data indicates there may be other issues along that area besides speed, and suggested alternatives to adding a stop sign.
“If the speed is not supporting it, then would we have some adverse unintended consequences such as greater traffic congestion, and possibly with the start and stop could it cause other collisions?” Chacon said.
The council agreed with the chief, and the department will move forward by exploring alternative traffic calming measures including looking at line-of-sight obstructions, increasing patrols and working with the city engineer on a more in-depth traffic study for additional recommendations. City staff will also talk to nearby homeowners to better understand the issue.
The council did not approve a stop sign for the intersection.
