Taxable property values increase by more than 10.6% in Collier County
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Real estate prices in Collier County have not skyrocketed.
And they didn’t fall either.
They have stabilized after the enormous increases in 2022 and 2023.
While preliminary data suggested a 1.2% decline for this year, the final listing shows a 1.58% increase in market values to over $223 billion across the county.
Jennifer Blaje Plock, director of tax roll compliance/data management for the Collier County Assessor’s Office, had expected an increase once all the data was analyzed, so the incident was no surprise to her.
The preliminary numbers are just preliminary numbers — and the final numbers usually look different. Especially this year in Collier County, where the state’s sales numbers came in later, Plock said.
Her office submitted the preliminary list to the Florida Department of Revenue on June 1 and the final list on July 1, as required by state law.
“It hasn’t really ‘changed’ in a month, we just weren’t done entering the data,” she said in an email.
She added: “I knew we were a little below market values in every tax district.”
The change partly reflects the entry of additional information on sales and new construction.
Local governments, including counties, cities and school districts, use the preliminary tax roll data as a starting point for planning their budgets for the next year.
The Florida Department of Revenue must approve the list before it is certified. Annual property tax notices are sent out by November 1 each year.
Return of a “real market”
In the county, real estate values rose 41.2% in 2022 after a buying spree and another 18.5% in 2023 after Hurricane Ian. Now the situation is different, the market is more stable.
Ian caused severe damage, especially near the coast, as it roared past in September 2022 – before making landfall one county over as a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane. This led to some significant “land sales” that, along with other factors, drove up prices after the storm and contributed to the increase in Collier County last year.
“We have seen many demonstrations,” noted Plock when he presented the preliminary list of participants for the district a month ago.
Now Collier’s property values are “increasing at a declining rate,” reflecting a “real market,” she commented.
Despite the changing market, the county still saw double-digit increases in taxable values from 2023 to 2024, increasing more than 10.6% to exceed $152.25 billion. This includes nearly $3.2 billion in new construction, which increased in value by nearly 7.2% compared to 2023.
In a more stable market, assessed values, or taxable values, can begin to catch up with market value through the annual tax increases permitted under state law, after deducting any exemptions, Plock emphasized.
When estimating the value of a property, all tax limits or ceilings are taken into account. From this, the taxable value is determined by deducting all allowances, which serves as the basis for the property tax calculation.
In case you missed it: Market values stabilize in Collier County after two years of sharp increases
Taxable values increase
Taxable values increased in every city and fire district, partly due to the loss of tax caps after properties changed hands.
“I would say that on average the taxable value at most tax authorities is about 10 percent higher than last year,” Plock said.
The largest increase was in the city of Naples, namely by 11.45%.
With higher tax values, counties and cities can collect more money with the same millage or property tax or increase or decrease their rates. Those responsible must make the relevant decisions in the coming months, explained Plock.
Here is a look at the market value changes in the three cities:
- In Naples they rose by 1.54 percent to over 54.75 billion dollars.
- On Marco Island, they rose 0.4% to around $23.82 billion.
- In Everglades City, they rose 6.42% to over $191.72 million.
Outside of cities, unincorporated areas are valued at nearly $144.32 billion, an increase of 1.78% over the previous year.
New construction increased market value by over $785.5 million in Naples, about $263 million in Marco and about $1.27 million in Everglades City.
Tackled hard by Ian, Naples saw the largest increase of nearly 82.5% compared to 2023, due in part to reconstruction and remediation from storm damage.
Outside of the cities, the county saw new construction add more than $2.55 billion in value, only a slight increase from the previous year.
More like this: Despite damage from Hurricane Ian, property values in Collier County rise by over 18.5%
What’s next?
Now the assessor’s office is waiting for decisions from tax authorities, including counties and cities as well as fire districts, on whether they expect to reduce, maintain or increase their tax rates.
On August 19, Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices containing next year’s tax proposals will be mailed.
“The ‘TRIM’ period is an important time for our office because it gives property owners the opportunity to review their assessments and contact our office with questions,” Plock said.
The notice lists the dates for public hearings and the contact information of each taxing authority in case property owners wish to provide input on the proposed tax rates before the final vote.
It also gives property owners time to challenge their assessments if they feel they are unfair.
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