Despite the national real estate crunch, a preliminary valuation of all Fort Bend County property by the county Central Appraisal District shows a total of $42.2 billion - up 10.8% from last year.

County officials expect property tax disputes to reduce that amount, leaving a net overall increase in property values of about 9%, according to an email sent by Fort Bend County Auditor Ed Sturdivant.

Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert called it “good news” as it applies to providing money to keep county operations going.

But preliminary land appraisals, sent out by the CAD to property owners this month, sent shock waves through Fulshear and Simonton, where residents have formed a new group - Citizens Against High Tax Appraisals.

Interviews with CAD officials earlier this year - and with county commissioners on Wednesday - show that land valuations vary greatly from one portion of the county to another.

In precincts 2 and 4, commissioners Grady Prestage and James Patterson each said they have fielded no complaints at all from citizens about this year’s proposed appraisals.

But in Precinct 3 - which includes most of Fulshear - it’s a different story.

“I’m getting a lot more complaints from commercial property owners,” Commissioner Andy Meyers said. “I mean a lot more than I usually get.”

In Precinct 1, Commissioner Richard Morrison said he’s received complaints, adding, “there’s going to be some folks that are pretty upset.”

Both he and Meyers have received email from Citizens Against High Tax Appraisals, whom Morrison said are “sharpening up their knives and getting their torches ready.”

Prestage said it’s possible his office hasn’t received complaints about high appraisals this year because some areas in his precinct have seen values lowered. Also, he noted that Fort Bend County Commissioners Court does not set property appraisals.

That’s done at the CAD. Meyers noted that, despite complaints about appraisals, Chief Appraiser Glen Whitehead is charged under state law with maintaining property appraisals in the county at 95% of market value, at least.

Nonetheless, Meyers indicated he understands what motivates property owners to complain about their appraisals, adding that his own property increased close to 10% last year and about the same again this time.

“I can’t believe my house went up almost 20% in two years,” he said. “And I don’t know if I could get that on the market.”

But in Fulshear and Simonton - where numerous new housing developments have sprung up - some residents and commercial property owners apparently are struggling with huge increases in appraised value.

“After receiving our tax appraisals for Fulshear/Simonton and surrounding areas, we have been forced to face the possibility of having to seel, foreclose or lose our properties to delinquent taxes at the end of the year,” said area resident Melisa Roberts in a widely circulated email announcing the formation of Citizens Against High Tax Appraisals.

Roberts couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning. However, she said in her email, “In an era of a failing economy, other areas of Fort Bend County saw a decrease in their property values, while our area saw an increase of as much as 2,300%. Please join us in an effort to protest our taxes as a community.”

Hebert had said in early March he anticipated county property values would increase between 8 and 10% this yea.

The county, as with school districts and cities, depends on property tax revenue to fund operations. But while it appears increased appraisals will keep county coffers full this year, Hebert is cautioning county department heads about 2010.

“…The full impact of the real estate market downturn would not be felt until Jan. 1, 2010,” he said in a recent email to county officials. “I urge everyone to hold to our budget targets for this year as best we can so that we can continue to meet our debt service needs, avoid unnecessary layoffs and other service curtailments, and keep our tax rate stable throughout the recession.”

While official Fort Bend appraisals are poised to rise again, albeit at a slower increase than last year, actual overall Fort Bend home sales prices appear to have declined as of January 2009 - the month from which appraisal values are calculated.

Data compiled by the Texas A & M University Real Estate Center shows that the average price for a home sold in Fort Bend County in January 2008 was $205,200. The average sales price for a home sold in the county during January 2009 was $190,900. That represents a drop of $14,300 - or about a 7% decline.

Similarly, the median price of a Fort Bend County home sold in January 2008 was $171,200, while the median price in January 2009 was $160,900 - more than $10,000 less, according to the TAMU figures.