Swain County is one of the last counties in the state to go eight years between property revaluations. Residents tend to forget from reval to reval exactly why their property values have been jacked up, overloading county offices with questions and complaints.

Peggy Hyde, the Swain County tax administrator, poses this question to folks who are upset about their new property value: would you sell your property at that price? For most, the answer is “no.”

While property owners admit the new value is lower than what they think their property is worth, they are still hit with sticker shock.

Eight years is the maximum time counties can go between revaluations, according to state law. Jackson, Macon and Swain counties now conduct revals every four years. Swain County commissioners will debate the merits of a four-year schedule this year. However, a revaluation can cost several hundred thousand dollars, an expense born by county taxpayers each time it is conducted. The pros of more frequent revals is lessening the “sticker shock” and leveling the playing field for property taxes.

One hundred years ago, when property values crept up by nickels and dimes from year to year, an eight year revaluation schedule probably made since.

But today real estate is played like the stock market by some wealthy investors. Many Swain residents saw their property triple or quadruple in value in just eight years.

Hyde said the property appraisal firm hired to do the reval visited every property in the county — 9,846 parcels to be exact. Those who disagree with their property value have until April 1 to file an appeal.