A.G. Gancarski
If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
That old joke about luxury items may also apply to property tax bills, which are going up in three Florida metros like almost nowhere else in the country, per Redfin.
In Jacksonville, property taxes are up 59.6% in the last five years, to $228 a month on average. Tampa homeowners are experiencing a 56.7% hike, to $250 a month. And Miami is not exempt, experiencing a 48.1% increase in the same period, to $367 a month.
The reasons for the spiraling costs, per Redfin, include “pandemic-driven migration,” the “homebuying boom” and “the increasing intensity of climate disasters.”
“Florida was alluring for remote workers during the pandemic because of its relatively affordable housing. Somewhat ironically, the state’s population boom has driven up home prices, and property taxes along with it,” said Elijah de la Campa, a senior economist at Redfin.
“The cost of owning a home has gone from affordable to unaffordable for a lot of local Florida residents and out-of-towners. Home prices that are much higher than in pre-pandemic times and the disaster-driven surge in HOA and insurance costs are now pricing homebuyers out of the market. The increase in property taxes is the last straw for some prospective buyers. Homebuyers have realized they may save money by paying no income tax, but their property tax bill will increase.”
