Broward has 12% drop in property values; cities also decline

Despite small signs that the real estate market, and the recession in general are starting to turn around, Broward County is still looking at an average 12 percent decline in property value, with municipal cities and other taxing entities (close to 61 government agencies in Broward collect taxes) seeing similar drops in revenue.

Last year’s total taxable value for Broward County was just over $147.5 billion, and it dropped this year to almost $130 billion, according to documents released by the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office. (Click here to see the document).

“Sales from last part of 2009 and the first five months of 2010 indicate we may have finally seen the end of this catastrophic real estate crash. Sales price trends seemingly indicate Broward reached overall market bottom a few months ago and subsequently are
holding steady,” said Lori Parrish, Broward’s property appraiser. “In general, we are starting to see mildly encouraging economic signs. The number of properties in foreclosure is down significantly versus last year, as is the MLS real estate inventory of available properties. Certainly, some distressed individual properties or isolated neighborhood pockets may see further value drops.”

Parrish also said that “communities with larger numbers of condo units may continue to see a modest value decline, as condo values traditionally take longer to stabilize and recover than singlefamily homes and commercial properties.

However a decline in property value does not always mean a decline in your tax bill, especially for those with Save Our Home/homestead exemptions because those generally increase up to three percent a year regardless of the market. Non-homestead and business properties might see a decrease in their tax bill, dependent on whether cities and other taxing entities increase, decrease or keep the same tax rate as last year. Most property owners have an average of eight different taxing entities on their annual TRIM notice required to be sent out to residents in July. (TRIM stands for Truth in Millage)

The drop in prices reflects home prices from Jan. 2, 2009 to Jan. 1 2010, and do not include any change in prices over the past six months. Currently most cities are setting their budget hearings, as is Broward County, to determine how these lower property values affect their budgets. Most municipalities fund their general budgets through property tax revenue, and these include police, fire, libraries, parks and other services.

Last year Broward County had to close a $110 million budget gap, with that expected to be higher this year. Last year, services were slashed, libraries and parks closed an extra day and many employees were laid off. (Click here to see information about last year’s budget cuts). Broward commissioners are expected to spend the summer discussing the budget, with the next meeting scheduled June 22, noon to 5 p.m. at the Broward County Governmental Center downtown near Broward Blvd. and Andrews Ave. (See the Broward County commission’s meeting schedule by clicking here)

Click here to see the appraised values for all municipalities and taxing entities in Broward. Not one of them escaped unscathed from declining property values.

Related posts:

1. $160+ million in grant funds to buy foreclosures in South Florida
2. Broward passes FY10 budget with no tax increase; big loss in arts, services
3. Consumer protection bill on appraisal management moves to Florida House floor
4. Property appraiser outreach in Davie
5. Broward Property Tax Exemption Filing Dates Announced For March 2010, help meetings scheduled

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Posted by AdamF on Jun 1 2010. Filed under Broward County, Fort Lauderdale, Local news, Real Estate, Schools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry