Property taxes: Gwinnett

Typical residential property undervalued by: 5%

2013 residential property appeals: 8,449

How the county stacks up: For years Gwinnett has been the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis in metro Atlanta. Through November of this year it still had more foreclosures than any other local county: 8,766, according to Equity Depot.

But that’s half the number the county saw through the same period in 2012. And that turnaround in the real estate market is reflected in the AJC’s analysis of Gwinnett’s property assessments.

The newspaper found Gwinnett’s typical residential appraisal is about 5 percent below market value this year. Last year the county’s typical assessment was 13 percent over market value.

Chief Appraiser Steve Pruitt said the real estate market recovery is clear, though not evenly distributed. He said the market is rising faster in areas like Buford, Suwanee, Sugar Hill and Peachtree Corners.

Gwinnett cut residential values by more than 5 percent this year. But Pruitt thinks the rejuvenated real estate market may justify raising some values next year.

“We’re going to start easing some of these properties up within the areas where sales are up substantially,” he said.