This is another one of those questions buyers ask us once in a while, and it is worth now clarifying.

First of all, the great state of Texas is a non-disclosure state like Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississipi and some counties in Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Non-disclosure states do not reveal home sales prices publicly.

This allows both the buyers and the sellers not to disclose how much they paid or sold their homes for. The agreed sales price is a result of a private contract, and it does not need to be made public. The only parties who know the details of the transaction are the REALTORS, the title companies or attorneys, and the lenders of the transaction.

If the house has been listed in the MLS, the listing agent will register the sales price in the MLS once the house is sold, and this information is only available to other licensed REALTORS and licensed Appraisers. It is not available to your county appraisal district nor other courthouses. It is not a secret that they have begged for access to this information, and sometimes filed lawsuits for that unsuccessfully. The MLSs prevailed based on the fact that this information is a byproduct of a private contract.

If the home was not listed in the MLS, and the home was sold directly by the owner or a by builder, there is no official record of that transaction. Only the interested parties will know.

Because the Appraisal District does not have access to this data, they have to "guess" the approximate value of your home to estimate the property taxes. Many times, the Appraisal District have the homes appraised for a lesser value than what the home owner paid for it. It is up to new homeowner to let the Appraisal District know how much he/she paid for the house. If the appraised value is higher than the amount he/she paid, the homeowner should protest the taxes based on this fact, and more than likely the county will concede.

We, as licensed REALTORS, have access to this private information, and we use it to estimate the approximate market value of a property either for a seller or a prospective buyer.

So, if you want to know how much someone paid for the house, just call me and I will check the MLS records.

If you have more questions, please do not hesitate to Email me or contact me at 713-589-3234 for more information.

As a By Referral Only®, and C.N.E., C.D.P.E, REALTOR® , I am committed to providing such extraordinary service and expertise that you will gladly refer your friends, family and acquaintances. With your help I am able to build strong business relationships one person at a time.