The office of Manatee County Property Appraiser Charles E. Hackney recently completed a comprehensive review of property sales in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach. Officials conducted the detailed evaluation following a bevy of property sales in recent years — primarily to speculators — as the market recovered from a recession that began in 2008
The 2015 total market value of each island city increased more than 18 percent over 2014. Meanwhile, the taxable value of property went up 10.82 percent in Anna Maria — the highest increase among municipalities in Manatee County — and 8.68 percent in Holmes Beach.
“The values are being drove up and it seems to be by investors,” said Mark B. Johns, director of appraisal services in Hackney’s office, in a June 2 interview.
Meanwhile, total market value in Bradenton Beach increased 3.54 percent, while the taxable value of properties went up 8.78 percent.
While market value is based on what properties sell for, the taxable value is market values minus assessment limitation caps, such as the Save Our Homes constitutional amendment, homestead and other exemptions.
Taxable values are typically 10-15 percent below prices.
The valuations are based on property sales through Jan. 1. Hackney’s office is required to publish the valuations by June 1 to give taxing districts a head start in their work to establish budgets and millage rates for the 2015-16 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
After the jurisdictions set millage rates, Hackney’s office will apply those rates against taxable value to calculate proposed 2015 property tax bills.
Hackney’s office will mail Truth in Millage notices on proposed taxes to property owners in mid-August. Tax bills for 2015 will be mailed out by Tax Collector Ken Burton Jr. in early November.
Taxpayers have until March 31 of the following year to pay their property taxes. Paying early results in discounts.
Holmes Beach’s total estimated taxable value is $1.54 billion. Anna Maria’s is $795 million while Bradenton Beach’s is $464 million, resulting in an islandwide value of $2.799 billion.
Anna Maria’s 2015 market value is $1.08 billion, an 18.95 percent increase over 2014. Holmes Beach’s market value is $2 billion, an 18.4 percent increase over last year. Bradenton Beach’s market value is $553.95 million, a 3.54 percent increase over 2014.
One of the reasons for the increases was the estimated value of new construction taxable property: $13.2 million in Holmes Beach, $11.9 million in Anna Maria and $4.6 million in Bradenton Beach.
The large differences between island cities primarily reflect the number of individual parcels in each city, Johns said. But he said Bradenton Beach is “a little bit on the lower side, compared to Anna Maria and Holmes Beach. It just seems like there is a little bit of a locational difference there.
“So much more, the market up there (Anna Maria and Holmes Beach) seems to be investors coming in and buying. They are paying a lot of higher prices and that is driving up the values in that area, as compared to Bradenton Beach.”
Still, Johns cautioned that “these are just estimates. These numbers are still changing.”
Hackney’s staff is “doing some tweaking in Bradenton Beach and that number is going to probably go up” slightly over the estimates, Johns said.
Hackney’s office will submit another round of more precise property valuations by July 1 to the Florida Department of Revenue and municipalities.