Do Home Appraisals Increase Baton Rouge Property Taxes?

Thanks Bill and Ryan:

Even the sale of the appraised property won't directly cause the assessment to change, UNLESS of course you are in a state like California where the sale does directly affect the assessment. In a majority of states in the U.S., local assessors pool together all of the arm's length transactions (call your local assessor to find there definition of this) in a neighborhood or study area and reassess all of the properties according to the median trends indicated by the market. Modern assessment offices use computer assisted mass appraisal methods to value real estate.  If you want to know more about how they do that call your local assessor. Assessor's have community outreach programs just for this reason. 

Real Estate Appraisers just work with the facts and sales numbers, the market drives the price of homes and thus the value.

Seems to me that assessments for tax purposes are based on transfer prices, not appraisals.  There is no requirement that an appraisal be reported to the tax assessment office.  For actual transfers, there is a reporting requirement IF THE DEED IS RECORDED.

Lenn - You are correct. Assessment offices only see appraisals when property owners volunteer them, about 99% of them being part of the appeal process. And all states that I know of have a state law provision that requires the register of deeds (or equivalent) and the issuing agent for building permits to make sure the local assessor is notified of property transfers and building permit activities.