Property appraiser estimates Palm Beach's overall values rose 21% over last year
Last year’s real estate market in Palm Beach may have slowed from the record-setting frenzy of 2021, but 2022 still saw property values soar by more than 20%, according to new preliminary estimates from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office.
Here’s a look at the town’s latest property-value estimates revealed in a new report prepared by Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks for the in-the-works 2023 tax rolls. Her office submitted the estimates to the state revenue authorities June 27 to meet a July 1 deadline.
How does the hike in Palm Beach's overall estimated values compare to last year?
Overall estimated market values in Palm Beach vaulted 21.29% last year — to $49.45 billion — in a year-over-year comparison. Jacks' report a year ago estimated market values at $40.77 billion.
Even topping $8 billion, the most recent hike in values falls far short of the 46% jump that Jacks estimated a year ago, when the numbers reflected the extraordinary housing boom that had stormed through the island the previous year. That boom in 2021 came in the wake of the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic but was fueled by Florida's reputation as a tax haven and the then-new work-from-anywhere trend.
Jacks’ figures are based on “market conditions” as of Jan. 1 each year, according to a statement accompanying her latest report.
The town “continues to show solid value increases year over year and remains one of the most significant contributors to the overall Palm Beach County valuation picture,” Jacks told the Palm Beach Daily News on Thursday.
The overall jump in values in town noted in the just-released estimates reflected a similar hike across the county, where the combined estimated market value of properties jumped by about $82 billion, year over year, from $404.32 billion to $486.6 billion.
From the 2022 archives: Palm Beach real estate values vaulted 46% in 2021, property appraiser’s estimates show
Palm Beach is essentially a bedroom community — and that helps boost values
Jacks’ office just estimated the island's overall residential values — including single-family homes, multi-family buildings, condominiums and co-operative units — at $44.4 billion. A year ago, that figure was $36.22 billion. The residential figures do not include vacant land zoned for residential use.
In contrast, the town's developed commercial property, excluding vacant properties, is valued at much less. The latest estimates give those commercial properties an overall value of $2.96 billion, compared to $2.67 billion the previous year.
In making their residential valuations, Jacks’ analysts focus partly on comparing sales within individual neighborhoods and then adjusting values as a result.
“We're looking at the general overall trend, based on a range of sales,” Jacks previously has said about the process.
Real estate frenzy: Palm Beach property deals in 2021 hit record $4 billion and left inventory tight
How do 'market values' differ from 'taxable values' — and why do residents and Town Hall care?
Jacks’ office also prepares preliminary estimates of the town’s overall “taxable values,” which start with the base market-value figure and then factor in homestead exemptions, other discounts and tax caps.
In Jacks’ latest report, Palm Beach’s estimated taxable values jumped 13.73%, from $25.57 billion for the 2022 tax year to $29.08 billion for the 2023 tax year. Once the tax rates were finally set last year, the town’s taxable values clocked in at $25.52 million.
For property owners who take a homestead exemption — and thus declare their homes to be their primary residences — annual tax increases are generally capped at 3% under Florida law. The so-called “value cap” is limited to a 10% increase for non-homesteaded properties.
In the estimates just released by Jacks' office, estimated taxable values countywide jumped about 13.7%, from $255.33 billion to $290.28 billion, in a year-over-year comparison.
“New construction continues to dominate value increases in Palm Beach County’s taxing authorities,” Jacks said in a prepared statement accompanying the latest value-estimates report. “This new value is being taxed for the first time in 2023, providing increased revenue to many districts.”
In the town of Palm Beach, the latest estimates took into account about $160.8 million in new construction completed last year. Those buildings had an estimated taxable value of about $154.7 million.
Big Palm Beach sale: Mystery buyer pays $68.15 million for Palm Beach house on "corner" of ocean and inlet
How will officials use the preliminary estimates?
The taxable-value estimates are used by Palm Beach officials and those with a number of other entities — including the Palm Beach County Commission and school board — to help figure their budgets and set property tax rates over the next few months.
The Palm Beach Town Council will hold its first budget workshop at 9:30 a.m. July 13 at Town Hall. The budget and tax rate will then be discussed at a meeting tentatively set for Sept. 12 and another on Sept. 21.
Countywide, the process — which includes estimated tax bills mailed to taxpayers by Aug. 18 — is typically finished by the end of September. That’s because final tax bills must be mailed to property owners by Nov. 1, according to state law.
*
Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: New estimates show a 21% annual hike in Palm Beach's property values
