Cape Coral property owners got good news and bad in their mailboxes this week.

The good news for most? Our tax bills are likely to be lower this year.

The bad news for virtually everyone? Our property values have plummeted, the primary reason for any tax savings we might see when the bills come out later this year.

All told, approximately 120,000 parcels of various types saw some decline in taxable valuations this year. Of the properties that saw a decrease in taxable valuation, approximately 2 percent fell between 75 and 100 percent; 44 percent declined between 50 and 75 percent; 28 percent fell between 25 and 50 percent and 27 percent declined between 1 and 25 percent. About 4,800 property valuations went up due, mostly, to a site improvement of some sort, such as the construction of a new home or addition, or because the property had sold and the taxable value was recalculated without any Save Our Homes benefits.

Depending on how one views the declines, things are set to get better on the tax front — or much worse on the property values side of the equation next year.

According to Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson, additional declines in valuation are expected due to the methodology used to calculate those valuations.

Taxable value is based on fair market value as of Jan. 1. That means that calculations are dependent on the previous year’s numbers — good in a rising market, perhaps not so good in one that is declining, such as ours.

We’ve seen the deepest slide in home values this year, with some listings showing prices not seen in the last decade in Lee County.

That means even lower valuations next year.

Even lower taxes? Well, that remains to be seen. Don’t be too surprised to see proposals for increased tax rates, coupled with a decline in some of the services we have come to expect.

Expect 2009 to get ugly on the tax front. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.



— Breeze editorial