95% of Homeowners Never Appeal Despite 40%+ Being Overassessed

Fewer than 5% of homeowners ever file a property tax appeal, even though studies show more than 40% of U.S. properties are overassessed by enough to save at least $100/year, with average savings of $539 for successful appellants. The gap exists because every one of the roughly 3,000 U.S. counties has its own appeal rules, deadlines, required forms, and evidence standards. A homeowner must first learn that appeals exist, then figure out their specific county's process, then gather comparable sales data they may not know how to find, then file within a 30-45 day window they may not even realize has opened. The structural root cause is that the appeal system was designed for a world where taxpayers had local knowledge and free time, not for dual-income households juggling jobs, childcare, and a bureaucratic process that varies by zip code. The result is a massive, silent wealth transfer from uninformed homeowners to their local governments.