Property taxes: Rockdale

Typical residential property overvalued by: 7%

2013 residential property appeals: 770

How the county stacks up: After years of smaller reductions, Rockdale County cut residential property values this year by a whopping 23 percent, or $849.6 million. That's a key reason the county looks so much better in this year's AJC analysis than last year's.

A year ago, the county’s typical residential appraisal was 57 percent over market value, as determined by sale prices, the AJC found. This year it’s just 7 percent over market value.

County officials declined requests for comment. But it’s clear a more stable real estate market in Rockdale also contributed to the newspaper’s findings. One measure of that stability: the number of foreclosure notices in Rockdale fell 45 percent through November of this year compared to the same period a year ago.

Rockdale homeowners apparently have noticed the reduced values. The county had 770 residential property tax appeals this year, nearly 60 percent fewer than last year.