How the property values in Pender County spiked

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY)– Pender County has paused the re-evaluations of people’s property, after resident complaints concerning the high increase in last night’s county commissioner meeting.

“Last year it was $373,320. This year, it’s $2,270,000,” said one resident.

It was a wave of complaints.

“Everyone is going to be scrambling to pay these taxes.”

As angry citizens took over the commissioners’ meeting.

“Is there a way to re-evaluate our re-evaluations?”

The subject of the contempt: two employees from Vincent Valuations, who showed up at the meeting even though appraisals were not on the agenda.

They didn’t speak, but their boss, Ryan Vincent, had a lot to say during a detailed presentation to the Pender County Commission last month.

“It’s really helpful to have you guys out there with us.”

Vincent walked commissioners through the criteria used for reappraisals, including individual homes, current condition, neighborhood or market area, and current sales prices.

“If you purchased a property on the open market close to Jan. 1, 2026, you can expect your value to be somewhere in line with that market transaction. Market value is defined as the most probable price that a willing buyer and willing seller would agree on in an open market.”

In the presentation, Vincent shared property photos and their changes in value, driven by the county’s rapid population growth and the fact that a revaluation hadn’t been done in seven years.

“The overall countywide change was between a 105% and 110% increase.”