Orange County Florida home values aren’t immune from decline during the current recession.
Despite having Disney World right in its back yard, earlier this year the Orange County Property Appraiser’s office released records showing that property values in the county dropped 16 percent on average last year. During this time the average home value in Orange County dropped from $196,000 to $165,000.
Even before this bad news was released, the city of Orlando was already facing a $50 million budget deficit.
By the middle of this year, Orange County school leaders were pushing to put a property tax hike on this year’s ballot to address not only falling home values but also the end of federal stimulus dollars.
Now a number of Orange County cities are proposing massive property tax increases to raise revenue despite the poor economy and very high unemployment in Florida.
Even though Orlando and other unincorporated areas of Orange County want to keep tax rates the same, cities like Edgewood, Belle Isle, and Ocoee are seeking staggering increases as high as a 42% increase from last year!
Those proposed increases are not sitting well with local taxpayers at a time when most other organizations are tightening their belts. However consider this ominous sign:
In some Florida cities located in Orange County, home values have dropped so steeply that a homeowner could be assessed a 42% rate increase but still pay a lower property tax bill compared to last year because of the lower home values.
That’s all the proof you need to understand the extent of the recession that we currently find ourselves in.
So don’t expect your city in Orange County to get property tax rate increases of 42% without a major fight from taxpayers!
