Despite damage from Hurricane Ian, property values up more than 18.5% in Collier County

Collier County's property values are up by more than 18.5% over last year.

This year the just value – or market value – for all property rose to more than $219.6 billion, up from about $185.3 billion in 2022.

That's according to the county's preliminary tax roll for 2023, released June 1.

Part of the increase can be attributed to new construction.

Excluding new construction, property values still rose by 16.8% countywide.

That's despite Hurricane Ian, which did some heavy damage in September, especially near the coastline, as it barreled by – before making landfall in neighboring Lee County, as a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane.

In Collier County, home prices remain historically high, especially in the Naples area, contributing to the higher values. It's primarily a matter of supply and demand, with a still-tight inventory, said Mike Dodge, director of education and market research at John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate in Naples.

"Even though sales have cooled to a pace close to pre-pandemic norms, the supply of available homes has a long way to go before inventory gets back to a normal level. Even though this slower pace of sales makes the market feel closer to a market that’s in balance, by the numbers, we are still in a seller’s market," he explained.

More: Naples-area home prices rise 6.8% in April, houses for sale in high demand

And: Florida Real Estate Market Report - Collier County

How did Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City fare?

Here's a look at how market values changed over the year in the county's three cities:

• In Naples, values rose by nearly 16.8% to more than $53.9 billion.

• On Marco Island, values increased by roughly 17.6% to more than $23.7 billion

• In Everglades City, values grew by about 7% to more than $180.1 million

New construction added nearly $430.5 million of market value in Naples, more than $200 million of value on Marco and almost $1.9 million of value in Everglades City.

Elsewhere in the county, market values were up 19.36%.

Meanwhile, taxable values rose by nearly 12.7% over the year countywide, reaching almost $137.7 billion. They're the values upon which tax bills are based, factoring in any discounts and exemptions.

Taxable values grew by 10.7% in Naples, by 12.8% on Marco Island and by 6.4% in Everglades City.

They were up nearly 13.5% in the rest of the county.

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Collier County saw bigger hikes in property values in 2022

The county saw even bigger increases in property values from 2021 to 2022.

Market values surged by more than 41.4%, with taxable values rising by more than 17.1% countywide.

Jenny Blaje Plock, director of tax roll compliance/data management at the Collier County Property Appraiser's office, said the hike in values from 2021 to 2022 is the largest one-year increase she's seen in her 26-plus years on the job.

"We saw something similar between 2004-2006 where values jumped 22% from ’04 to ’05, then another 30% from ’05 to ’06," she noted. "Then there was a steady stream of years of decreasing values up until 2011-2012 – before the market started to come back."

In 2021, the county saw unprecedented home sales, based on volume and prices, Plock said.

"In 2022, the market was still strong right up until the storm hit. The volume of sales had decreased a bit, but the prices were still high," she noted.

The Ian-induced slowdown didn't last long.

In the most heavily impacted areas, investors "swooped in," buying up the damaged homes and demoing them, resulting in a lot of "high dollar vacant land sales toward the end of the year," Plock said.

Higher construction costs and rising land values contributed to the property value increases in 2023, she said.

"The increase in values is strictly based upon what is happening in the market," Plock said. "We here at the property appraiser's office never create any value – we simply reflect back on what was taking place in the marketplace. It is sales in your own neighborhood and market areas that directly impact your property values."

While the tax roll isn't final, she doesn't expect much to change before the next submission to the Florida Department of Revenue in July.

The department must approve the roll before it becomes final.

Annual property tax notices are mailed by Nov. 1 each year.

"Although we do value properties for taxation purposes, we have no say or part in setting the millage rates, which are used to calculate the property taxes. That responsibility falls back to the respective taxing authorities, such as the school district, to support their budgets," Plock said.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Property values still rising in Collier County, despite Hurricane Ian