Where the data comes from and how fresh it is
Everything in Acresift comes from public records. Nothing is bought from a data broker or typed in by hand, so Acresift is only as current as the county or agency that publishes it.
Parcels, owners and values
Each county publishes its parcel map and tax records (owner, mailing address, tax value, land use, sometimes sales). Acresift checks every night and reloads the counties that changed.
- Most counties update monthly or quarterly; some only once a year.
- Tax values change only when the county reappraises, often every four to eight years, so they can lag the market.
- Sales are added county by county, where the county publishes them.
- Where a county’s own tax card is online, the parcel panel opens it live.
Site data
Flood zones come from FEMA, wetlands from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, streams, lakes and elevation from USGS, roads from the NC 911 Board, stormwater programs from NC DEQ, town limits from NCDOT, and zoning from each county or town. Most change slowly, every few years.
Site measurements (buildable acres, flood share, frontage) are worked out from these one county at a time. The coverage map shows what each state has, and the layer reference lists every layer and its source.
Map layers are live
Map layers are drawn straight from the publisher’s server, so you always see the current version. If a server is down, that layer shows a warning and the rest keep working.
When the data looks wrong
Check the date on the parcel card, and open the county’s tax card for its current record. Still wrong? Email admin@acresift.com with the parcel number and we’ll check it.
Words used on this page
- Tax value
- The county's value for property tax. Often years out of date, and not what the land would sell for.
- Sale price
- What was paid at the last recorded sale, from the deed. Sales under $1,000 (gifts, family transfers, corrections) are not treated as market sales.
- Parcel
- One piece of land as the county's tax map draws it, with its own parcel number. A deed can cover several parcels and a parcel can have several owners.