Olmos Park Home Values Dipped in 2026. Why Did the City Tax Bill Go Up?

In 2026, the average homestead in Olmos Park lost about 2% of its taxable value. The city tax on the average homestead went up by more than 6%. The City of Olmos Park's own public hearing notice puts the average homestead taxable value at $1,152,742 for 2026, down from $1,179,472 in 2025. It puts the city tax on the average homestead at $6,404.91, up from $6,031.95. That's $372.96 more in a year when the average taxable value fell.

Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills went the same way, by different amounts. If you're comparing these three small cities, keep this pattern in mind before you read any tax figure on a listing. Here the council's rate decision moves the bill more than the appraisal does.

The Tax Figure on a Listing Is the Seller's

Most buyers first meet a property tax number on a listing sheet or in a seller's disclosure. That number reflects one owner's history with one house, and part of that history doesn't come with the sale.

The Texas Comptroller explains that for a homeowner who qualified the home as a homestead in both the prior and current year, the appraised value "may not increase more than 10 percent per year." The Comptroller's guidance on valuing property also says the limit applies only to a property granted a residence homestead exemption. It takes effect on Jan. 1 of the year after the owner qualifies, and it expires on Jan. 1 of the year after that owner no longer qualifies. In general, taxable property is appraised at market value as of Jan. 1.

The cap belongs to the homestead owner, not to the house. A seller who has owned and lived in an Olmos Park home for years may be paying taxes on a capped value, and that number tells you little about what your own bill will look like. The second half of the bill, the rate, is where 2026 shows the bigger surprise.

Lower Values, Higher Bills in All Three Cities

Bexar County publishes a Truth in Taxation Summary that lists each taxing entity's adopted rate next to two benchmark rates. The no-new-revenue rate would raise the same revenue from the same properties as the year before. The voter-approval rate is the highest a city can adopt without an election. For tax year 2026, here's how the three cities compare, per $100 of taxable value:

All three cities adopted rates above their no-new-revenue rates. Olmos Park and Terrell Hills set theirs exactly at the voter-approval ceiling. Alamo Heights stayed well below its ceiling.

The average-home figures from each city's notices show what that did to bills:

• Olmos Park: average homestead taxable value down 2.27%, city tax up $372.96, or 6.18%.
• Terrell Hills: average home taxable value down 1.92%, from $1,090,723 to $1,069,779. City tax went from $3,904.72 to $4,045.55, up $140.83, or 3.61%.
• Alamo Heights: the city's tax page states that the FY 2026-2027 rate will effectively raise maintenance and operations taxes by 8.68%. That's about $233.41 more for maintenance and operations on an $885,505 home.

The Olmos Park and Terrell Hills figures come from hearing notices published while the rates were still proposed. The county summary now lists those same rates as adopted.

Why a Lower Appraisal Can Push the Rate Up

The no-new-revenue rate explains the whole pattern. A small city's budget is a dollar amount, and the rate is whatever it takes to collect that amount from the values the appraisal district certifies. When values drop, the rate has to rise just to bring in the same money. That's why every no-new-revenue rate in the table is higher than the city's 2025 rate.

Each council then went past that line. Olmos Park's notice says plainly that because the proposed rate is higher than the no-new-revenue rate, the city "is proposing to increase property taxes for the 2026 tax year." Because the rate didn't exceed the voter-approval rate, no election was required. The public hearing was held Sept. 14, 2026, at Olmos Park City Hall, 120 W. El Prado Dr. The notice records all five council members voting for the proposal and none against.

For a buyer, this changes what an appraisal dip means. A softer valuation in a small city with a fixed budget doesn't promise a lower city bill. Olmos Park's rate has risen every year shown in the county summary, from $0.426806 in 2022 to $0.555624 in 2026.

Putting the Rates to Work on a Purchase

The formula on Olmos Park's notice is simple: the tax rate times the taxable value, divided by 100. At the 2026 adopted rates, each $100,000 of taxable value carries this much in city tax alone:

1. Olmos Park: about $555.62
2. Alamo Heights: $402.00
3. Terrell Hills: about $378.17

The city line is one of several on a Bexar County bill. The county summary lists every taxing entity separately. One example is the Alamo Community College District, at an adopted 2026 rate of $0.166650. Comparing city rates shows how the three municipalities differ. It doesn't add up to a full tax estimate.

All of this lands in a market where buyers have more room on price than they've had recently. In its September 2026 report, released Oct. 9, the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® reported 5.95 months of inventory for the San Antonio area. Homes averaged 88 days on the market, up 11% from a year earlier, and closed at an average of 92.4% of their original list price. Those are metro-wide numbers, not Olmos Park figures. They describe a market where buyer and seller negotiate the purchase price, while each city council sets its tax rate on its own annual schedule.

How the 2026 Rates Were Set

The 2026 calendar shows when each city's rate took shape this year. Alamo Heights' no-new-revenue and voter-approval calculations were certified on July 27, 2026, and the city scheduled its public meeting to vote on the rate for Aug. 24. Terrell Hills certified its rates on July 29 and held its hearing on Sept. 14. Olmos Park posted its hearing notice on Sept. 2 for its Sept. 14 hearing.

If you're under contract in late summer, the city's rate for that year may still be only a proposal. Each city posts its notices on its own website. Olmos Park, Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills each published their 2026 documents this way, and Terrell Hills lists its 2026 adopted tax rate ordinance on its finance page.

Quick Answers

Did Olmos Park adopt the rate it proposed? Yes. Bexar County's Truth in Taxation Summary lists Olmos Park's 2026 adopted rate as $0.555624, the same as the proposed rate.

Which of the three cities has the highest city rate for 2026? Olmos Park, at $0.555624 per $100. Alamo Heights is at $0.402000 and Terrell Hills at $0.378167.

Can a city raise its rate without an election? Olmos Park's notice states that because its proposed rate didn't exceed the voter-approval rate, the city was not required to hold an election on it.

Where is the homestead cap explained? On the Texas Comptroller's property valuation page, which covers the 10% limit, when it starts and when it expires.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm how these rules apply to your purchase with a tax professional or the Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector.

If you're weighing Olmos Park against Alamo Heights or Terrell Hills and want to see how each city's rate figures into the homes on your list, I'd be glad to go through the numbers with you before you make an offer. Leslie Reyes Idais is here to help. Let's Connect.