The responsibilities of the Assessor's Office include locating, inventorying, and appraising all property within the county for property tax purposes. The Real Property section is tasked with valuing all residential and commercial property under the rules of California's Proposition 13, which mandates that a property is reassessed whenever there is a change in ownership or new construction is completed.

Appraisers in the Real Property section employ commonly accepted appraisal practices to develop an opinion of a property's market value as of the date of a change in ownership or the completion of new construction.

The Real Property section also reviews contested assessed values under certain conditions and presents appraisal evidence during Assessment Appeals Board hearings.