Appeal Builder · Madison and Dane County · 2026 assessments
Check your assessment against what similar homes sold for.
Free, for single-family homes in Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee and nine more nearby towns. The window to appeal 2026 values has closed. 2027 notices go out in spring, and then you have a few weeks to object, so this is a good time to see where you stand.
Single-family homes in Madison and 14 nearby cities and villages. Free, no email needed.
- Built from assessor, county and state records
- 15 Dane County cities and villages
- 97,781 single-family homes
- 9,996 arm's-length sales since 2024
- Data as of October 11, 2026
How it works
From your address to the hearing room
Check your address
Free. See your record, how your value moved against your neighborhood, and whether recent sales back your assessment or undercut it.
Get the evidence
If they undercut it, the report pulls the closest sales, adjusts each for size, basement, bathrooms, age, lot and date, and shows every number's source.
Take it to Open Book
Most fixes happen here, informally, with the assessor. Bring the report and any wrong facts on your record.
File if you need to
If Open Book doesn't settle it, file the objection, then testify under oath. The report has the exhibits and the script.
What Wisconsin boards weigh
Built on the rules the board actually uses
National appeal sites lead with "your neighbors pay less." In Wisconsin that argument fails and can backfire. The law asks for market value, proved with sales.
What works
- Your own recent open-market purchase price, the strongest evidence there is (70.32)
- Sales of truly comparable homes, adjusted for differences, time first (WPAM)
- Wrong facts on your record: square footage, bathrooms, a basement that isn't finished
- Condition problems that existed on January 1, with photos and repair estimates
- Sworn testimony at the hearing, not just a form (70.47)
What the data shows
Madison's 2026 assessments, by the numbers
From the city's own parcel records and sales lists. The same records feed every check and report.
Homes that sold were generally reassessed close to their sale price, while unsold homes moved less. Wisconsin law says a just-sold home generally shouldn't be revalued on its sale price alone (DOR). For most owners who didn't sell, it also means the assessment is more likely to be low than high, which is why the check often says not to appeal. In our sample of the city, about 14% of single-family homes came back "worth a closer look."
Outside Madison
Fourteen more towns, town by town
Each town has its own assessor and its own level. Here's what the public records show for 2026.
| Town | Assessor | Single-family homes | Sales used | Median change, 2025 to 2026 | Assessed vs. sales | Typical miss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Prairie | City of Sun Prairie Assessor's Office | 8,564 | 341 | +16.9% | 99% | 5.6% |
| Fitchburg | City of Fitchburg Assessor's Office | 5,805 | 238 | 0.0% | 94% | 5.6% |
| Waunakee | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 4,501 | 181 | 0.0% | 95% | 6.3% |
| Middleton | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 4,271 | 137 | +32.3% | 98% | 6.3% |
| Stoughton | Accurate Assessor | 4,006 | 174 | +7.2% | 100% | 6.1% |
| Verona | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 3,729 | 149 | +10.5% | 98% | 5.0% |
| Oregon | Accurate Appraisal | 3,286 | 136 | 0.0% | 101% | 7.9% |
| DeForest | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 3,243 | 147 | +7.3% | 92% | 4.7% |
| McFarland | Accurate Appraisal | 2,786 | 104 | +3.7% | 100% | 7.5% |
| Monona | Accurate Appraisal | 2,369 | 79 | +2.9% | 100% | 11.2% |
| Mount Horeb | Tyler Technologies | 2,297 | 93 | 0.0% | 86% | 8.5% |
| Cottage Grove | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 2,003 | 64 | +45.9% | 95% | 6.3% |
| Shorewood Hills | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 618 | 18 | 0.0% | 66% | too few sales |
| Maple Bluff | Associated Appraisal Consultants | 565 | 20 | 0.0% | 63% | too few sales |
Values: Dane County parcel records (2026) (2025). Sales: Wisconsin DOR real estate transfer returns (DOR), January 2025 to March 2026, screened to arm's-length sales of single-family homes. "Assessed vs. sales" is the typical 2026 assessment as a share of what nearby sales indicate; a town that hasn't revalued in a while sits well below 100%, and what matters for an appeal is whether your home sits above the town's own level (WPAM). "Typical miss" is how far the method landed from the actual price, at the median, on sales it wasn't shown. Sun Prairie, Monona, McFarland, Oregon and Stoughton also publish size and age for sold homes (Sun Prairie) (Accurate Appraisal).
Pricing
A flat price, and only when it can help
No share of your savings and nothing that renews. Reports open in spring 2027, once the new assessments are out. Until then the check is free, and we can email you when reports open.
Assessment Check
- Your record, checked for errors
- Your change vs. your neighborhood
- A plain verdict and the closest sale
- Your town's appeal dates
Evidence Report
- For Open Book
- 3–6 sales, adjusted to your home
- Every adjustment and its source
- Your own sale, if you bought recently
- A letter to fix errors on your record
- What to say to the assessor
- If it goes to the board
- Your objection form figures
- Condition exhibits from your photos
- Flood zone and traffic for each sale
- Hearing script and likely questions
- Free update if your value is revised
Opens spring 2027. See a sample report
Questions
Before you appeal
Is this an appraisal?
No. It isn't an appraisal or a real estate agent's market analysis. The report gathers the public sales and assessment records a board looks at, and shows the adjustments and the arithmetic. You decide what value to ask for and put it on the objection form yourself. Nobody here is a licensed appraiser or real estate broker, and we don't present it as either.
Can my assessment go up if I appeal?
Yes. Madison's Board of Assessors raised at least one 2026 objection rather than lowering it, and the state's own guide warns that comparing yourself to neighbors can lead a board to conclude they are the ones assessed too low (WPAM). That's why the check tells you when an appeal probably won't help.
Why not just compare my assessment with my neighbors'?
Because Wisconsin boards decide value from sales. The statute ranks the evidence: a recent open-market sale of your home, then sales of comparable homes, then everything else (Wis. Stat. 70.32). The Department of Revenue tells owners not to compare their assessment to other properties (DOR guide).
Do I still have to go to the hearing?
If it gets that far, yes. The Board of Review can only act on sworn testimony, and an opinion of value with nothing behind it loses (Wis. Stat. 70.47). Many cases settle earlier, at Open Book, when you show the assessor a wrong record or better sales. The report includes a testimony script.
What does it cost, and is there a percentage of savings?
The check is free. The Evidence Report will be $79, flat, for one property and one year, with everything for Open Book and the Board of Review in it. It opens in spring 2027, when the new assessments are out; leave your email and we'll tell you. We don't take a share of your savings, and there's no subscription or anything that renews. If the data near you is too thin for a report, the check says so before you pay.
Which towns are covered?
Single-family homes in Madison and 14 nearby cities and villages: Cottage Grove, DeForest, Fitchburg, Maple Bluff, McFarland, Middleton, Monona, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Shorewood Hills, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee. Condos and two- and three-unit buildings come next. Madison publishes every home's size, age and bathrooms, so its check compares adjusted sales of similar homes. Elsewhere the county's records carry values but not those details, so the check compares your assessment with sales of homes the assessor valued like yours a year earlier, and in Sun Prairie, Stoughton, Oregon and McFarland you can add your home's details to see adjusted sales too.
Who's behind this?
Appeal Builder is made by Badger Homeowner, an independent guide for Madison-area homeowners. We aren't connected to the assessor, the city or any appraisal firm. The full how-to is free on our appeal guide; the report does the data work for you.