A surging economy and a boom in construction are expected to raise taxable property values across Central Florida for the third straight year, according to preliminary figures released by Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties.
That means that local governments can expect to see fatter tax rolls next year, unless cities and counties lower their tax rates.
“It’s good news across the board,” said David Johnson, Seminole County’s property appraiser. “It’s definitely a sign that the economy is improving.”
Seminole’s taxable property values are expected to rise by 5.8 percent this year from 2014, according to Johnson’s office.
While in Orange County, taxable property values are predicted to jump by 7.8 percent, according to Property Appraiser Rick Singh’s office. Osceola County expects to see a nearly 5.8 percent increase, and Lake County predicts an increase of nearly 5.2 percent.
Among the region’s cities, Apopka saw one of the largest jumps, 11.3 percent higher than last year. Winter Garden expects a rise of 10.3 percent, Orlando’s would increase by 9.1 percent and Sanford likely will see a 7.2 percent jump.
Besides the economy, property appraisers also are pointing to population growth for the rise in home and condominium values. More people are moving into Central Florida to find work and buy new or existing homes.
That translates into more home construction as one of the main reasons for the swelling property values, according to Osceola’s Property Appraiser Katrina Scarborough.
“We have seen a considerable increase in new construction, which is an indication of a growing real-estate market,” Scarborough said in an e-mailed statement.
In Orange County, new construction this year has gone up by 45 percent since 2014. And there has been a 79 percent increase in new homes built in 2014 compared to 2013.
In effect, existing homes in well-established neighborhoods are seeing their values rise.
“Supply and demand is kicking in,” Singh said. “We’re starting to see more than one offer on [existing] homes.”
In 2014, the average home price in Orange County was $252,000, an increase of $24,000 from the previous year, according to Singh’s office.
Lake County has seen a 33 percent increase in new-home and business construction from 2013, county Property Appraiser Carey Baker said.
But homeowners should not break out the champagne just yet in seeing the value of their homes go through their roofs.
Higher property values can mean more costly tax bills for the average homeowners, even if counties, cities and school districts keep their tax rates the same.
However, a homeowner having a homestead exemption will help ease the blow of higher taxes. In addition, state law caps a property tax increase to 0.8 percent for property owners with homestead exemption.
Another group that will not welcome rising property values are renters.
That’s because the owners of rental properties will likely pass along the costs of higher tax bills to their tenants.
“Tenants are ultimately affected by this,” Singh said.
County property appraisers in Central Florida’s four counties — Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola — released their taxable value estimates for 2015 last week. Local governments use those numbers to put together their proposed budgets before setting tax rates in September. The final numbers will submitted to the state’s Department of Revenue by July 1.
Even so, county officials across Central Florida smiled at the estimates.
“We’re continuing to see buildings going up and people coming in,” Johnson said. “That’s healthy” for the local economy.
mcomas@tribune.com or 407-420-5718
