Property Tax Evaluation

[Chase Beasley]

I am no pro when it comes to the nuances with property taxes but I have a scenario that I feel has become an issue with our local municipality.

Scenario: 

An associate of mine purchased a newly constructed home in September of this past year for $700k. He also also purchased the lot next door with an older, small and much less appealing home for $300k. 

There are a few newly constructed homes in the area but most are priced similar to the new home (purchased at $700k). 

Upon reciept of the tax bill, the county appraised the newly constructed home for $1.1mil and the adjacent home for $450k. The appraisal came in much higher than what was purchased. 

Can someone shed light on to what is possible here? To my understanding the property tax appraisal would reflect the purchase price of the home?