Nashville Property Values Surge 72%; High Tax Bills Coming

Property owners could be in for a jolt as the next wave of tax assessments approaches.

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office reported the total property value in Davidson County has soared to more than $220 billion, up 72 percent since 2020, the Nashville Business Journal reported.

Property assessments, used to determine tax obligations, have increased nearly 50 percent in that same period, according to the state’s 2024 Tax Aggregate Report, released Monday.

The figures don’t reflect the official reappraisal that Metro Nashville is conducting this year, but they offer a preview of the elevated values expected when assessment notices go out in May. The reappraisal covers all 289,784 parcels in Davidson County and could trigger widespread property tax increases for residential and commercial owners.

The last countywide appraisal, in 2021, brought a 34.1 percent median property value jump, even amid pandemic disruptions. This time, the adjustments may be more severe, particularly for property types that received breaks during Covid, such as hotels and retail.

They are likely to see significant increases, as the assessor is expected to factor in their post-pandemic recovery and growth since 2021, said Caren Nichol, a property tax attorney at Evans Petree.

Commercial and industrial assessments are up nearly 52 percent over the last four years, while residential assessments have climbed 42 percent, according to the state report.

The reappraisal has already begun to affect dealmaking in the market. With no firm numbers from the assessor’s office yet, developers and buyers are facing a murky tax environment.

“It is difficult to plug that into their pro forma,” Nichol said. “They are having to prove an unknown to a bank to ask for financing.”

The uncertainty comes amid ongoing development and investment momentum in Nashville, which has seen record multifamily deliveries, construction financing activity and surging population growth in recent years. Still, for project sponsors and lenders, the tax delta between now and later is creating friction in an already tight capital environment.

The updated property values are expected to formally land in property owners’ mailboxes by May 20.

— Judah Duke