Overview: Greater Austin Property Tax Agent Performance Study
With property taxes and home valuations remaining uniquely high across the Austin area, the choice of representation matters more than ever. To understand the real impact of hiring a professional, we analyzed data from the 2025 tax season, comparing results between Central Texas legacy tax firms and the modern approach of Ownwell.
As highlighted in our recent Austin-area market analysis, traditional firms’ high minimum flat charges and contingency percentages leave homeowners with smaller net savings on their tax bills. To see who truly delivers for everyday residents, this study focuses exclusively on residential properties valued at $1M or less.
The data breaks down performance by county and property value, revealing significant variances in success rates and net savings.
Your Neighbors Might Be Paying Less...
Data Source & Scope
The performance data presented below is derived directly from 2025 county appraisal district records for Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop counties.
To ensure accurate net savings calculations and to make this study applicable to the average homeowner, the comparison set is limited to residential properties under $1 million.
Key Insights by County
Travis County
Company | Ownwell | Traditional Firms |
|---|---|---|
Total Properties Analyzed | 41,730 | 84,914 |
Successful Properties Analyzed | 39,121 | 71,871 |
Success Rate | 94% (9% more) | 85% |
Data as of November, 2025. Assumes Ownwell fee of 25% and a typical agent fee of $50 minimum or 40% contingency.
Travis County is the epicenter of the Austin market, and the data reveals a stark difference in representation quality for everyday homeowners.
Ownwell proves that a localized, data-driven approach yields higher win rates and higher average net savings in all market value ranges.
Across every price tier under $1M, Ownwell clients enjoyed a significantly higher probability of winning and kept more money in their pockets.
Market Value Band | Agents | Win Rate | Avg. Net Savings (Successful Protests) | Avg. Net Savings % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
<$250k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 34% 81% (47% more) | $171 $227 | +33% |
$250k-$500k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 87% 94% (9% more) | $342 $427 | +25% |
$500k-$750k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 91% 94% (3% more) | $554 $595 | +7% |
$750k-$1M | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 93% 95% (2% more) | $741 $745 | +1% |
Top Travis County Takeaways:
Entry-Level Edge: For homes under $250k, Ownwell secured reductions in 81% of cases compared to the market’s 34%, and delivered 33% more savings ($227 vs $171).
Core Market Dominance: In the highly dense $250k-$500k price range (57,143 total properties protested by Ownwell and other firms), Ownwell clients saved an average of $427 per successful protest compared to the market average of $342 — 25% higher.
Williamson County
Company | Ownwell | Traditional Firms |
|---|---|---|
Total Properties Analyzed | 30,979 | 25,814 |
Successful Properties Analyzed | 20,502 | 14,799 |
Success Rate | 66% (9% more) | 57% |
Data as of August, 2025. Assumes Ownwell fee of 25% and a typical agent fee of $45 minimum or 40% contingency.
Williamson County represents a highly competitive appraisal district where massive reductions are notoriously difficult to secure. In this tight valuation environment, Ownwell distinguished itself by maintaining elite success rates while securing competitive and often superior net savings.
By winning more frequently and leveraging a transparent fee structure, Ownwell optimized the final return for WILCO residents, particularly at the entry-level and top-end brackets.
Market Value Band | Agents | Win Rate | Avg. Net Savings (Successful Protests) | Avg. Net Savings % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
<$250k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 55% 76% (21% more) | $72 $78 | +8% |
$250k-$500k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 87% 96% (9% more) | $117 $92 | -21% |
$500k-$750k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 88% 94% (6% more) | $120 $123 | +3% |
$750k-$1M | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 87% 92% (4% more) | $117 $146 | +25% |
Top Williamson County Takeaways:
Likelihood to Win: For the nearly 21,000 successfully protested properties valued $250k-$500k, Ownwell secured a 96% success rate compared to the market's 87%.
Higher-Priced Properties Mean Higher Net Savings: Owners of $750k-$1M homes kept an average of $146 per successful protest with Ownwell, 25% higher than the $117 average from other traditional agents.
Hays County
Company | Ownwelll | Traditional Firms + DIY |
|---|---|---|
Total Properties Analyzed | N/A | N/A |
Successful Properties Analyzed | 19,500 | 27,982 |
Success Rate | N/A | N/A |
Data as of August, 2025. Assumes Ownwell fee of 25% and a typical agent fee of $50 minimum or 40% contingency.
Disclaimer: Due to specific county reporting limitations, the "market" benchmark includes both agent-represented and self-represented (DIY) protests. However, historical data reveals that the vast majority of protests are carried out through firms. Lastly, overall win rates were unavailable for Hays County, but net savings per successful protest are exact.
The rapid growth in Hays County has led to surging property values, making effective tax defense critical. The data shows that traditional agents are leaving money on the table in this county.
Market Value Band | Agents | Avg. Net Savings (Successful Protests) | Avg. Net Savings % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
<$250k | Traditional Firms + DIY Ownwell | $200 $225 | +13% |
$250k-$500k | Traditional Firms + DIY Ownwell | $290 $430 | +48% |
$500k-$750k | Traditional Firms + DIY Ownwell | $466 $664 | +42% |
$750k-$1M | Traditional Firms + DIY Ownwell | $593 $837 | +41% |
Top Hays County Takeaways:
Mid-Market Wins: Ownwell clients with homes valued $250k-$500k averaged $430 in net savings per successful protest — outperforming traditional firms and DIY protests’ average of $290 by an impressive 48%.
High-Value Returns: In the $500k-$750k bracket, Ownwell delivered average net savings of $664 per successful protest; 42% higher than DIY and other firms’ $466 average.
Premium Category: For homes valued $750k-$1M, Ownwell secured $837 per win; roughly 41% higher than the $593 average realized by other firms and DIY protestors.
Bastrop County
Company | Ownwell | Traditional Firms |
|---|---|---|
Total Properties Analyzed | 2,680 | 3,294 |
Successful Properties Analyzed | 1,695 | 1,590 |
Success Rate | 63% (15% more) | 48% |
Data as of December, 2025. Assumes Ownwell fee of 25% and a typical 35% contingency agent fee, and $0 minimum fee.
Bastrop County data presents a fascinating case study of the trade-off between the number of wins and the size of individual reductions.
The data highlights an issue among the general tax agent market: a lack of reliable wins. While most traditional firms struggled to win half of their cases for homes under $1M, Ownwell maintained strong, consistent success rates.
When you calculate the true expected savings — factoring in both the size of the reduction and the probability of actually getting it — Ownwell's high success rate overtakes the competition.
For Bastrop homeowners, choosing Ownwell is the mathematically safer bet, delivering a far greater likelihood of actual tax relief and a higher net return overall.
Market Value Band | Agents | Win Rate | Avg. Net Savings (Successful Protests) | Avg. Net Savings % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
<$250k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 49% 43% (6% less) | $240 $155 | -35% |
$250k-$500k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 49% 69% (20% more) | $284 $269 | -5% |
$500k-$750k | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 42% 69% (27% more) | $491 $419 | -15% |
$750k-$1M | Traditional Firms Ownwell | 51% 74% (23% more) | $763 $640 | -16% |
Top Bastrop County Takeaways:
The "Expected Value" Advantage: While traditional firms showed slightly higher savings when they won, their high failure rates severely hurt homeowners.
When factoring in the likelihood of a win, a Bastrop homeowner with a $500k-$750k property has a true expected net savings of $289 with Ownwell, compared to just $206 with a traditional firm.
Unmatched Reliability: For homes valued between $250k and $1M, Ownwell maintained success rates of 69% to 74%, drastically outperforming the traditional firms’ average of 42% to 51%.
Core Market Reach: In the $250k-$500k band, Ownwell’s superior 69% success rate yielded a blended average net savings of $186 across all clients, putting 34% more money back into the community than the traditional firm average.
Conclusion: The Bottom Line for Austin Area Homeowners
The 2025 data across Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop counties reveal a clear trend for the Greater Austin area.
For residential properties valued under $1 million, Ownwell consistently outperforms legacy property tax firms, achieving higher success rates and delivering larger net refunds to homeowners. A major driver in this performance gap is the difference in pricing models. Many traditional tax agents’ fee structures include steep minimum flat charges and high contingency percentages.
Because of these heavy costs, even a successful tax reduction with a legacy firm often leaves the homeowner with a smaller net return.
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Methodology
Comparison and Scope:
"Ownwell": Represents all residential property protests under $1M filed by Ownwell in the 2025 tax year.
"The Market" (Traditional Firms): The reported market performance reflects the average results, accounting for typical tax agent fees in each county.
Hays County Disclaimer: Due to county data limitations in Hays County, the "market" benchmark includes both agent-represented and self-represented (DIY) protests.
Key Metrics:
Average Net Savings (When Successful): The actual money a residential property owner kept in their pocket per successful protest.
Calculated as (Tax Savings - Estimated Fees) / When Successful
Success Rate: The percentage of filed protests that resulted in a reduction. A higher success rate indicates a greater likelihood that the homeowner will receive savings.
Exclusions: To ensure statistical validity, we excluded market value bands with fewer than 10 properties from the detailed analysis.
Fees:
Percentage-based fees: Applied to traditional firms' contingency rate. We calculated these fees using the combined pricing structure for firms’ published and/or known pricing structures:
Bastrop: $0 minimum fee | 35% contingency fee
Hays: $50 minimum fee | 40% contingency fee
Travis: $50 minimum fee | 40% contingency fee
Williamson: $45 minimum fee | 40% contingency fee
Why fees matter: Traditional percentage-based contingency and/or minimum fees mean that higher tax savings can result in lower net savings for the homeowner. This study measures what actually ends up in your pocket — the only metric that matters.
