The deadline for Honolulu property owners to appeal their annual assessment is Tuesday, but only about 2,800 people have filed appeals so far — sharply down from last year's flood of protest — despite another year of double-digit increases in property values.

Gary Kurokawa, administrator of the Real Property Assessment Division, suspects that next week's deadline will bring in the bulk of appeals and that some homeowners have grown accustomed to the increases, which have doubled and even tripled tax bills for some residents over the last four years.

City Councilman Todd Apo, who represents the Leeward Coast, lives in an area that has seen larger value bumps this year than more than half of the island. But, based on the number of calls and e-mails he and his staff have received, he believes the public reaction is more muted this year.

"It's not as heavy as it was last year," Apo said. "There's less sticker shock and a little more understanding."

Kurokawa said about 6,000 people appealed last year and about 2,800 of those cases are yet to be resolved.

Realtor Stan Worthley, who lives in Waikele, said he will file an appeal because he's concerned that the current system isn't accurate and he'd like to see it improved.

He's got a couple of examples that strike close to home. Worthley said his four-bedroom, 2 1/2- bath, 1,700-square-foot home on the golf course assessed at $828,700. But 10 houses away, neighbors listed a similar house for $799,000, dropped the price a couple of times in recent months, then took it off the market at $729,000.

Another nearby Waikele house that was listed yesterday on the Multiple Listing Service has an asking price of $695,000. He said it first went on the market Aug. 15 at $755,000, shortly after the city's assessment period ended in June. "This house is identical to mine," he said.

Worthley knows the real estate market has cooled in recent months but said that sales earlier this year still don't justify assessments like those in his neighborhood. "No property similar to mine has ever sold for $828,000," he said.

Worthley, who has worked in real estate for more than a decade, said he believes properties often are undervalued or overvalued but believes that's because the city is trying to take on too much with too few people: "They're understaffed and overworked."

He said he's appealing because he wants to see some change happen. "I love the place that I live and I want it to get better," Worthley said.

Kurokawa said the values are set as of Oct. 1 and based on recent sales of similar properties through June 30.

Although fewer people have contacted his office this year than last, Kurokawa said he's ready for a last-minute surge, since the Tuesday deadline requires that mail be postmarked by that night.

"The phones have been really, really busy," Kurokawa said.

But he said the overall increases in values were not as sharp as in other years.

Still, he said taxpayers want to understand the assessments and express their concern.

"Everybody knows the market is good, but they're still surprised," Kurokawa said.

Apo said the city, the council and community members have debated the property tax issue extensively over the past year and some forms of relief have emerged.

Apo, who became council Budget Committee chairman this month, said the council will look closely at proposals from the administration and work on a variety of ideas to offer property owners a break from the years of skyrocketing bills.

He said the council last year lowered the residential tax rate, offered a one-time credit of $200 and doubled the exemption for most owner-occupants.

Apo said the council also will work to find other ways to keep the city budget under control. And he's open to lowering tax rates again to help ease the burden.

He said the message needs to go out that a rise in valuation doesn't have to increase the tax bill: "It's not an automatic connection."

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.