Both Lee and Collier counties are reporting expected boosts to property values in almost all areas of the counties, according to numbers released Friday. And both had increases in nearly every area — cities, unincorporated areas and fire districts — for the first time since the recession. Only one fire district in Collier experienced a decline. For the second year in a row, Lee County had its property values increase after several recession-era years of decreases. Across the county, property values for 2014 are estimated to increase 5.48 percent from last years final appraisals. That translates to an increase of about $2.99 billion, from about $54.6 billion in 2013 to $57.6 billion estimated for 2014. Collier Countys property values increased by 6 percent in 2014, up by $3.7 billion to $64.3 billion from $60.7 billion, according to the Collier Property Appraisers Office. The increase represents the largest annual jump since before the recession and continues an upward trend for the counties. Its a very good sign. Theres a lot of investors and people coming in and buying, and theyre using their own money, not the banks, Lee County Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson said. And these numbers could still change for the better. Last year, Cape Corals estimated 4 percent turned into a 7 percent final increase, and Wilkinson said this year that if numbers change at all, it should be for the positive. Collier County Collier officials were pleasantly surprised but cautiously optimistic about the numbers they saw. I wasnt really expecting to see numbers this high, said Jenny Blaje, director of Tax Roll Compliance and Data Management for the Collier appraisers office. North Naples increased 5.5 percent, up $1.25 billion over last year, according to the report. And for the first time since before the recession, all areas in the county — Naples, Marco Island and Everglades, plus the unincorporated areas and fire districts — experienced an increase, except for the county fire district, according to the report. Its refreshing to see the economy is recovering, but I think its going to be a slow process getting us back to where we were before the recession, said Commissioner Tim Nance. The jump in taxable value will add nearly $13 million to the countys budget if the Collier commission doesnt change the property tax rate. In February, the board directed staff to proceed with a tax rate neutral budget plan. Since 2008, Collier has lost more than $21 billion in taxable value — close to 21 percent of the total property values. This equates to about $77 million in tax revenue, according to county documents. Due to that steep drop, county leaders have deferred $42 million in asset replacement since 2008, according to county documents. We have a larger backlog than what this surplus can cover, so I dont think it will allow much additional spending, Nance said. New construction Across the board, Lee and Collier had increases in new construction values, each with about a 50 percent growth spurt. New construction values in the county also jumped by 48.25 percent, from $562 million to $833 million. The increase outpaced even optimistic estimates and adds further evidence to the pace of economic recovery in Collier. In Lee, values increased 47.8 percent from $444 million to $657.1 million. Bonita Springs doubled its new construction value, from $57 million last year to an estimate of $122 million for this year. But Fort Myers Beach won the percentage race, clocking a nearly 500 percent increase in new construction value, from last years $1.6 million to $9.4 million projected for this year. sellingnaples.blogspot/2014/06/lee-collier-property-values-see.html
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 20:22:01 +0000
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