Lee County Property Appraiser Matt Caldwell has released estimated tax roll figures for Fort Myers Beach for the 2025 tax year. After seeing a 40% increase in taxable value in 2024, the estimated increase for 2025 on the beach is only 3%.
In 2023 Fort Myers Beach had $2.6 billion worth of property that could be taxed. In 2024 it shot up to $4.169 billion. For reference, before the storm, the total taxable value of properties on Fort Myers Beach in 2022 was $4.5 Billion. The estimated 2025 taxable value of $4.294 billion is a 3% increase and it’s what the Fort Myers Beach Town Council will be using to set the ad-valorum rates for its next fiscal year which begins October 1st. The current tax rate on the beach is .99 of $1,000 of assessed property value. The Town Council has not voted to raise that rate in several years.
By comparison, Caldwell is estimating Sanibel will increase by 1%, Bonita will increase 3.5% and countywide the increase is estimated to go up 4.8%.
Caldwell tells Beach Talk Radio there were two reasons for the big increase on Fort Myers Beach last year. The first is the numerous buildings that were damaged by Hurricane Ian (both commercial and residential) that came back online and are now back in the taxable bucket. The other has to do with property that has been sold and can now be taxed on the full just value of the property this year.
When a property is owned for decades by the same person or same family there’s a cap of 10% on the amount its taxable value can be increased annually. An example is the Red Coconut property. Being that it was owned by the Myers family for so long, the taxable value could only increase by 10% each year. At the end of their ownership they were only being taxed on about $10 million worth of the main property. Property values on Fort Myers Beach have gone up, even immediately after Hurricane Ian. Now, Seagate who purchased the 10-acre Red Coconut property started out being taxed on an assessment of the property of $35 million. Every property that changed hands, such as the Outrigger, Pete’s Time Out, The Dairy Queen, and others also fit into that higher taxable bucket. Another factor that led to the big increase was Margaritaville opening its doors.
There’s nothing unusual or in contradiction with the former Red Coconut having sold for $52M and having a $35M taxable value.
I wanted to jump in here to clarify some of the confusion. Haven’t commented before but I follow BTR daily to stay up on FMB news. I understand why the assessments may be confusing, particularly with the former Red Coconut property. I was directly involved with the Red Coconut transaction, and tax appeal work on behalf of property owners is a significant segment of our business – nearly 300 cases/properties this past year.
In short, the assessments each year (for all property) is based on Chapter 193 of Florida Statutes. The “Just Value” identified each year for a property is the closest thing to what we all think of as “Market Value”, but they are NOT the same thing, by definition. Without going into the weeds, Just Value is designed, by statute, to be less than actual Market Value. You’ll notice “Taxable Value” as a term that’s used in the article. That number is simply the Just Value, minus any exemptions (homestead, widow/widower, etc.) and assessment caps (3% for homesteads, 10% for all non-homestead property). The assessment process can definitely be confusing at times since there are many moving parts.
What I’m describing here is just a small portion of understanding how assessments work, but I wanted to at least clarify some of the terms involved and explain why a $52M prior sale price and an assessment of $35M are not in contradiction. The property appraiser definitely gets a percentage of assessments wrong each year. There’s no way around that and that’s why the appeal process exists. But overall, they do an excellent job and there’s nothing with the assessment/prior sale price relationship specifically of the former Red Coconut that’s conflicting.
I also thought the Red Coconut sold for $52 million. Are any of these numbers correct?
Government appraised value on real estate for tax purposes is rarely the same as market value. Market value usually is much higher. This benefits the property owner since he/she is not paying taxes on the full value of their property.
FMB taxes will continue to rise in the future. This is one reason why only the wealthy, real estate developers and corporations will be able to afford FMB; not saying there is anything wrong with that, its progress.
That is not progress.
And there is something wrong with that happening in the USA
Assessed value is not the same as what a property sell for. I believe that’s where the possible confusion comes in?? Basically it’s saying Seagate overpaid by a significant amount.
If I’m reading it, is that it was assessed at 35 million. Totally different from the sale price. Don’t quote me, but that’s the way I’m reading it.
I thought the Red Coconut sold for $52 million. Why is it not on the rolls as such. So it appears Seagate only pays on $35 million. Something is not right with these numbers.