The rapid rate of foreclosures in Florida is starting to change the way county property appraisers do business, and the result could mean a change in home values and property tax bills next year.
The long-held wisdom of county appraisers was to ignore foreclosures when setting property values, but that's about to change, said Rob Turner, Hillsborough County property appraiser.
"This is a market that most everyone hasn't ever seen who's in this business," Turner said. "It screams for a new focus and guidance on how we're going to manage this."
Turner said he can no longer set aside foreclosures as atypical. Incoming Pinellas County Property Appraiser Pam Dubov agrees that foreclosure sales need to be considered when setting home values in a given neighborhood.
"Foreclosures are going to be so significant in number that they are going to need to be considered as part of the market," Dubov said.
Areas with a large number of foreclosure sales are likely to see lower property values next year, Dubov said, but because local governments can set tax rates to offset any loss of value, tax bills won't necessarily drop.
"We'll start to break them down area by area, neighborhood by neighborhood, and see where they have an impact and where they don't have an impact," Dubov said.
The state Department of Revenue is holding a weeklong seminar for Florida property appraisers this week in Orlando. Turner said the state is expected to reveal new guidelines for property appraisers that factor in foreclosures.
One in every 157 Florida homeowners received a foreclosure filing in October, the third-highest state foreclosure rate, according to California-based RealtyTrac.
That's 54,324 Florida properties that received a foreclosure filing during the month. That's an increase of 13 percent from September.
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