Though rumors of a recession resound across the country, local real estate values are continuing to rise, as shown in the release of Volusia County’s preliminary tax roll.
The Volusia County Property Appraiser’s Office’s latest look at the total worth of lands and improvements shows their total estimated market value is just under $98 billion. That is a 15.2-percent increase over last year’s nearly $85 billion market value.
That number — actually rounded to $97.8 billion, and climbing — is an increase of about $110 million just since the release of the 2023 pre-preliminary tax roll in late May.
Volusia County, like other parts of Central Florida and most of the Sunshine State, is running counter to the real estate trends elsewhere in the nation.
“People want to come here because there are so many good things in Volusia County, and they’re willing to pay the price,” Property Appraiser Larry Bartlett told The Beacon.
Of that record high market-value estimate, known as the just value, the county’s taxable values amount to some $55.1 billion. That is yet another record high, and 13 percent above the 2022 tax roll of just under $48.8 billion.
The 2023 preliminary tax roll comes as leaders of the county and cities and state agencies such as school districts and hospital districts finish their budgets for the next fiscal year and prepare to set property-tax rates. By law, the elected governing bodies must adopt their tentative ad valorem levies by July 31. Once those tentative levies are set, the taxing authorities may reduce the final tax rates, but they may not exceed them.
To assist officials in their budget and taxation decisions, the preliminary tax roll includes the calculations of rollback rates. As property values rise, the rate of taxation needed to yield revenues equal to the current or preceding-fiscal-year level declines. The rollback rate does not take into account new construction or, in the case of cities, annexations.
The rollback rate is based on the existing values of properties, as determined by sales of comparable properties in the same or similar areas, as well as construction or replacement costs that include the prices of land, labor and materials.
If the governing body of a county or city or another taxing agency sets a tentative property-tax rate higher than the rollback rate, it must advertise the proposed levy as a tax increase. The tentative or proposed ad valorem tax rates will appear on the TRIM — TRIM is an acronym for Truth in Millage— notices sent to owners of properties in mid-August. The TRIM notices inform property owners of possible impacts of the pending decisions on taxation, as well as the dates, times and places of public hearings and votes by taxing authorities to adopt new budgets and set final levies for the 2024 fiscal year.
