If you own a home in Forsyth County, you probably noticed something eye-opening on your last tax notice. In the 2025 reappraisal, residential values rose roughly 55-60% on average across the county. That’s a big jump, and it left a lot of Winston-Salem homeowners asking the same question:
“Wait — is my house really worth that much more now?”
It’s a fair question, and the honest answer is: maybe, but not necessarily. A higher assessment feels like your home is suddenly worth a lot more, but your tax value and your home’s market value are two different numbers — and the gap between them can be thousands of dollars in either direction.
Knowing the difference matters more than most people realize, especially if you’re thinking about selling, refinancing, or settling an estate.
At TAG, we help Winston-Salem homeowners sort this out every week, so let’s break it down.
Tax Value and Market Value Are Two Different Numbers
These terms get used all the time interchangeably, but they measure different things:
Tax value (assessed value) is the number the county assigns to your home for the purpose of calculating property taxes. Forsyth County resets it on a four-year cycle.
Market value is what a buyer would actually pay for your home today, in current market conditions.
One is a tax figure set on a schedule. The other moves with the real world. Here’s how they compare side by side:
Tax Assessed Value vs. Market Value in Forsyth County
Tax assessed value
Market value
Who sets it
The Forsyth County Tax Office
The market: buyers and sellers
How often
Every 4 years (last: Jan 1, 2025)
Changes constantly
What it’s for
Calculating your property tax
Pricing a sale, refinance, or estate
How current
A snapshot that can lag the market
Real-time
TAG Tip: Your tax value went up because the county caught up to years of market growth all at once. That doesn’t automatically mean a buyer would pay that exact number today. It might be higher, and it might be lower.
Why Your Tax Value Can Be Higher OR Lower Than Reality
A reappraisal is essentially a mass update. The county values thousands of homes at once using broad models. That works reasonably well across a whole county, but it can miss the mark on any single home.
Because assessments look backward to a set date, they can lag a fast-moving market or overshoot for your specific property.
A mass-appraisal model can’t see the things that make your home unique: its actual condition, recent updates or deferred repairs, a quirky lot, or a location advantage (or disadvantage) down to the street.
Two homes on the same block with the same square footage can be worth very different amounts once you factor in a renovated kitchen versus an original one, or a finished basement versus an unfinished one. So your tax value might be too high, too low, or close to right — and there’s no way to know which without a real look at your home. If yours looks too high, it may be worth appealing.
There’s another wrinkle: the tax record itself isn’t always accurate. An addition might not be on file yet, the square footage can be wrong, or the record can still show something that’s long gone. Usually the error works in the homeowner’s favor — like finished space over a garage or a finished attic that was never added to the record.
As our team puts it:
“Maybe there was a barn on the property 50 years ago that got torn down… or an in-ground pool from the 80s or 90s that got ripped out.”
TAG Tip: An appraisal is private between you and the appraiser — we don’t report anything to the tax assessor. If you want your tax record corrected, you’ll need to supply that update to the county assessor’s office yourself.
Three Moments When the Difference Really Matters
For most of the year, the gap between tax value and market value doesn’t change your daily life. But there are three moments when getting it right can mean real money:
- Selling — If you price off the tax card, you can leave money on the table when the number is low, or scare off buyers when it’s high. You want to price on true market value.
- Refinancing — Lenders don’t care about your tax assessment. They need a current market-value appraisal to approve the loan and set your terms.
- Settling an estate — Here it’s the date-of-death value that matters, not the assessment. A certified appraisal protects the estate, supports the tax basis, and keeps things fair among heirs.
How to Find Out What Your Home Is Truly Worth Today
If you actually need to know your home’s value — not just a ballpark — a pre-listing or private appraisal gives you a defensible, current number based on a real look at your property. This is different from the reassessment: instead of a model valuing thousands of homes at once, a licensed appraiser evaluates your home specifically.
Why it beats both a Zestimate and the tax card: an online estimate is an algorithm guessing from a distance, and the tax card is a snapshot frozen on an assessment date. A private appraisal uses real comparable sales, an actual inspection of your home, and local eyes that know the Winston-Salem market. It’s the number that holds up when it counts — with a buyer, a lender, or a court.
And because our team is cloud-based, we deliver most reports within 3–5 days of inspection, with full coverage across Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. That means you get a clear, current answer quickly — instead of guessing off a tax notice or an online estimate.
Find Out What Your Home Is Really Worth
Curious what your home is actually worth after the reappraisal, not just what the county says? Whether you’re getting ready to sell, refinance, or settle an estate, a private appraisal from the TAG team gives you a real number you can stand behind. Reach out and let’s find out what your Winston-Salem home is truly worth today.
FAQ's
What's the difference between tax value and market value?
Tax value (or assessed value) is the number Forsyth County assigns your home to calculate property taxes, set on a four-year cycle. Market value is what a buyer would actually pay for your home today. They’re two different numbers, and they can differ by thousands of dollars in either direction
Is my tax assessment the same as my home's value?
No. Your tax assessment is a mass-appraisal estimate set on a schedule, not a current market value. It can be higher or lower than what your home would actually sell for, because it can’t account for your home’s specific condition, updates, or location.
Why did my Forsyth County home value go up so much in 2025?
The 2025 reappraisal reset residential values to catch up with several years of market growth all at once, so many homes rose roughly 55–60% on average. A higher assessment reflects that catch-up — it doesn’t automatically mean a buyer would pay that exact amount today.
Does a higher tax value mean my property taxes will go up?
Not necessarily. Your final bill depends on both your new assessed value and the tax rate the county sets, so a higher value doesn’t always translate to a proportionally higher tax bill.
How do I find out what my Winston-Salem home is really worth?
The most reliable way is a private or pre-listing appraisal, where a licensed appraiser inspects your home and uses real comparable sales. It’s more accurate than a Zestimate or your tax card, and it gives you a defensible number for selling, refinancing, or settling an estate.
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