BCAD Mailed 2025 Value Notices: What a 2% Residential Increase Means for San Antonio Homeowners

If a notice from the Bexar Appraisal District showed up in your mailbox recently, you are not alone. BCAD mailed more than 390,000 Notices of Appraised Value for 2025, covering a portion of the more than 774,000 properties the district appraises across Bexar County. Notably, that mailing was about 174,000 fewer notices than went out in 2024, which means a large share of property owners did not receive one this year—typically because their appraised value did not change enough to trigger a notice.

For residential property owners who did receive a notice, the countywide average increase was just over 2%. That is a far cry from the double-digit jumps that rattled homeowners in 2021 and 2022, and it signals a market that has moved into a slower, steadier phase. Of that modest increase, about 1.5 percentage points came from new construction activity rather than from rising values on existing homes. In practical terms, that means the appreciation pressure on homes that were already on the tax rolls was very small.

So what does a 2% increase actually cost you? If BCAD appraised your home at $300,000 last year and that value rose 2% to $306,000, the taxable impact depends on your specific tax rate and any exemptions you carry. Homeowners with a standard homestead exemption already have some protection baked in, and Texas law caps the annual increase in the taxable value of a homesteaded property at 10%. With values rising only around 2% countywide this year, most homesteaded homeowners are well below that cap, which means their tax bill should not see a dramatic jump from the appraisal side alone.

If you own property in communities like Helotes, Leon Valley, Converse, Universal City, Schertz or Live Oak—or in high-activity ZIP codes closer to the urban core like 78209 in Alamo Heights, 78230 near the Medical Center, or 78245 out toward Lackland—your individual notice may reflect local conditions that differ from the countywide average. New construction has been especially active in growth corridors along Highway 151, Loop 1604, and out toward the Cibolo and New Braunfels edges of Bexar County. If your neighborhood saw a new subdivision go up nearby, some of that 1.5% new-construction component of the increase may be particularly relevant to your area.

For homeowners who believe their 2025 appraised value is inaccurate or unfair, the protest deadline is May 15. That gives you roughly a month from now to file. You do not need an attorney or a consultant to protest—you can file directly with BCAD online, by mail, or in person. The most effective protests come with evidence: recent comparable sales in your immediate neighborhood, a recent appraisal, documentation of condition issues the district may not know about, or a clear demonstration that similar homes nearby were appraised lower. If you own a home in a school district like Northside ISD, North East ISD, South San Antonio ISD or Judson ISD, the underlying tax rates set by those districts matter just as much as the appraised value itself, so understanding both pieces is worthwhile.

For people thinking about buying a home in San Antonio this spring, a 2% residential value increase is actually a reassuring sign. It suggests the market has stabilized after years of rapid appreciation, and it lowers the risk of overpaying for a home that might be appraised far below purchase price next year. Buyers financing a home should also keep in mind that lenders rely on appraised values, so a stable appraisal environment makes the financing process more predictable.

Sellers should understand that a modest countywide appraisal increase does not automatically translate to higher sale prices—those are driven by buyer demand, interest rates, and local inventory, not by what BCAD puts on a notice. That said, a stable appraisal environment does tend to support steady listing prices, and a low tax bill is a selling point worth highlighting to prospective buyers, especially relocating families comparing San Antonio to higher-tax metros.

Renters are affected indirectly. When a landlord's property tax bill stays relatively flat, there is less pressure to raise rents to cover that cost. A 2% appraisal increase is unlikely on its own to force significant rent increases, though landlords in high-demand neighborhoods make decisions based on many factors beyond taxes.

Whether you received a notice or not, now is a smart time to look up your property's appraised value on the BCAD website, compare it honestly to what similar homes around you have sold for, and decide whether a protest makes sense. May 15 will come quickly, and missing that deadline means waiting another full year.