Methodology and data sources

Last updated: May 2, 2026.

This page documents how protest.pearlandai.com selects comparable properties and computes the suggested relief amount that appears on each evidence Packet. We publish it because (a) ARB defensibility requires the customer to be able to explain where each number on the Packet came from, and (b) transparency about methodology is the difference between a defensible exhibit and an unexplainable spreadsheet.

1. Source data

All property data — owners, addresses, subdivisions, neighborhood codes, year built, living area, class codes, foundation, exterior, fireplaces, plumbing, garage, pool, and the full appraised / market / land / improvement / assessed value breakdown — comes from Brazoria Central Appraisal District's annual Preliminary Appraisal Roll Real & MH export, in the PACS layout v8.0.33. We ingest the four fixed-width files BCAD publishes (PROP_INFO, IMP_DETAIL, IMP_ATTR, ABS_SUBDV) and join them on prop ID. Source dataset code, run date, and PACS layout version are printed on every Packet's methodology page.

We do not enrich BCAD data with photographs, on-site inspections, third-party MLS data, or proprietary valuation models. The only non-BCAD calculation in the Packet is the median $/sqft of the selected comparable set and the suggested-value figure derived from it.

2. Comparable selection — base variant

Texas Tax Code §41.43(b)(3) lets a property owner argue the appraised value is unequal to the median appraised value of a "reasonable number of comparable properties appropriately adjusted." The base variant operationalizes this in a defensible, deterministic, BCAD-data-only way:

1. Filter to residential properties in the same scope (subdivision by default; neighborhood as a fallback for sparse subdivisions — see §4).
2. Filter to properties with the same BCAD class code as the subject (a class-code match is the strongest comparable signal BCAD records).
3. Filter to properties built within ±10 years of the subject.
4. Filter to properties whose living area is within ±25% of the subject.
5. Sort by appraised $/sqft ascending; take the lowest 10.
6. Compute the median appraised $/sqft of those 10.
7. Multiply by the subject's living area to produce the suggested value.
8. Subtract from the subject's current appraised value to produce the relief amount.

The Packet prints the full filter chain, the population sizes at each step, the 10 selected comparables, and the median calculation in a format the ARB can audit line-by-line.

3. Comparable selection — land-aware variant

For properties where the land value is a large share of total appraised value, the base variant under-credits the land contribution. The land-aware variant adds an additional filter that requires the comparables' land value per acre to be within ±50% of the subject's, in addition to the other filters above. The land-aware variant is clearly marked as such on the Packet and in the methodology table.

4. Scope: subdivision vs. neighborhood

Most subdivisions in Brazoria County have enough homogeneous, class-matched, similarly-sized housing stock to produce 10+ comparables within the subdivision boundary. For those properties we default to subdivision scope, which is the strongest §41.43(b)(3) framing because subdivision is the most explicit comparability signal in BCAD's data.

For smaller or more heterogeneous subdivisions, fewer than 10 close matches exist within the subdivision. In those cases we expand to neighborhood scope (BCAD's hood_cd field, which groups adjacent subdivisions BCAD considers similar for assessment purposes). Neighborhood-scope Packets are clearly marked as such on the cover, in the methodology table, and in the §41.43(b)(3) argument paragraph, with an additional disclosure paragraph explaining why subdivision scope was insufficient. The customer chooses scope explicitly at unlock; we never silently substitute scopes.

5. What we do not do

• We do not visit, photograph, or inspect any property.
• We do not adjust comparables for differences BCAD does not record (interior condition, recent renovations, deferred maintenance, view, traffic exposure, school assignment, lot orientation, etc.).
• We do not use MLS data, recent sale data, or any non-BCAD valuation source.
• We do not run a market-value appraisal, a hedonic regression, or any model the ARB would recognize as an appraisal under USPAP.
• We do not predict or guarantee what the ARB will do with the Packet.

6. Customer review obligation

Before submitting a Packet to BCAD or the ARB, the customer is responsible for reviewing it for accuracy and reasonableness. In particular: (a) confirm the subject information matches the property, (b) confirm the comparables are in fact reasonably comparable to the property as the customer knows it, (c) consider whether the customer wants to add condition photographs, repair estimates, or other evidence the Packet does not include, and (d) confirm the suggested value is one the customer is willing to argue for at the hearing. The Packet is the customer's exhibit; the customer's name is on it and the customer presents it.

7. Updates

We may refine this methodology between tax years. We will not change the methodology of an already-rendered Packet — your downloaded PDF is what you bought. If you re-download a Packet at a later date, you will receive the same PDF that was originally rendered against the snapshot of BCAD data current at unlock time.