“Miami-Dade County will experience a windfall in its property tax rolls due to the robust growth in taxable real-estate property values as a result of a major real-estate boom that this County has experienced over the past four years,” said Commissioner Souto.   According to him, this year, Miami-Dade County will have $175 billion in taxable real-estate values, compared to $147.59 billion in taxable real-estate values in 2004, $130 billion in taxable real-estate values in 2003 and $114 billion in taxable real-estate values in 2002. This represents a whopping $61 billion growth in taxable real-estate values or 153.5% growth over a four year period for Miami-Dade County.  

According to the National Association of Realtors, since 1993, the median sales price of existing single family homes in Miami-Dade County has risen from $95,500 to $315,000 in the first quarter of 2005, a staggering 330 percent increase.  The $315,000 median sales price of existing single family homes in Miami-Dade County compares to $157,000 in Tallahassee,  $159,000 in Gainesville, $164,000 in Jacksonville, $173,000 in Tampa/St. Pete, $194,000 in Orlando, $138,000 in Houston, $140,000 in Dallas, $141,000 in New Orleans, $151,000 Detroit, $159,000 in Atlanta, $165,000 Philadelphia, $236,000 in Denver, and $243,000 in Chicago.    

This growth, which is fueled by new construction, will continue to be felt in the next two years as the homeowners take possession of homes that have been sold over the last 18 months in brand new single family home developments in the Northwest, Southwest and Western areas of the County; and as condo owners take possession of their units in new high rise condominium buildings in downtown Miami, along the Miami River and in Miami Beach.    Commissioner Souto says that he does not see a reciprocal adjustment in the millage rates proposed by the County Manager.  “Remember that as we run out of land for constructing new neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County, the values of existing homes will keep escalating, because the demand will continue to exceed the supply of available homes,” added Commissioner Souto. 

In addition, Commissioner Souto says that as the County coffers increases with all the construction and re-sale of existing homes, the County’s budget has continued to grow exponentially, which is the reason that there has not been any significant property tax relief to the homeowners of Miami-Dade County. “If the assessments are going to continue to increase, which adds money to the tax rolls, and if we are having all this growth in the tax rolls due to new construction and re-sales in the midst of a real-estate boom, then let’s turn around and reduce the tax rates accordingly.  Let’s not kid ourselves with these assertions that taxes were held in check or reduced slightly, like we have done in previous years when the homeowner receives the tax bill the assessment of the home is higher and the bottom line is that their taxes continue to escalate.  Lets offer our tax payers, especially the retired homeowners who paid off their homes and live on their retirement income, a real tax break,” said Souto.

This large increase in the tax base gives the County, the cities, and the School Board an opportunity to cut tax rates. “A minuscule reduction in the millage rate, like the County Manager is proposing is highly misleading and although it appears to be a tax cut, in reality it requires you to pay more in taxes, because they increased the value of homestead property by 3 percent in value,” stated the Commissioner.  Commissioner Souto’s memorandum asks his colleagues and the Mayor to provide the property owners and tax payers of Miami-Dade County the efficient government that they were elected to provide.