By Mary Hladky
All but one southeastern Palm Beach County community saw their property values increase this year — though most performed below the countywide growth percentage.
South Palm Beach’s values declined for a second consecutive year.
The county’s taxable property values increased by nearly 7% over the past year, according to data released on May 27 by Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks.
The preliminary estimates, which will be revised at the end of June, show that while the countywide taxable value jump of 6.9% was below the 7.7% increase recorded last year, it still is a healthy rate of growth.
In southeastern Palm Beach County, Briny Breezes led the way with an 11% taxable value increase, followed by Gulf Stream with a 7.7% jump, the only two in the area to outpace the county.
In order of growth, the other municipalities experienced the following increases: Delray Beach 6.9%, Lantana 6.7%, Ocean Ridge 6.3%, Boca Raton 6.2%, Boynton Beach 4.9%, Manalapan 4.8%, and Highland Beach 4.1%.
South Palm Beach, the only one of the county’s 39 municipalities to see its values decrease, posted a 1.24% drop — double last year’s 0.62% decline. The year before that, the town posted a 10% increase.
Jacks said the county’s overall increase was assisted by almost 4,000 new residential units — including single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes — added to the tax roll.
“Somewhat similarly to 2025, we are seeing value increases focused in the new construction space, particularly in new residential construction,” Jacks said.
Last year, a total of 2,700 single-family homes and 22 new apartment complexes were added to the tax roll for a gain of 3,773 units.
Taxable values dropped countywide after the 2008 economic crash, but recovery started in 2013. Since then, taxable values have gained every year. Of the county’s municipalities, Boca Raton continues to have the highest taxable value, at
$42.5 billion, followed by Palm Beach’s $37.5 billion.
Taxable value increases are welcome news for municipal leaders as they work to finalize their budgets for the new fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Local governments use taxable values to calculate how much property tax money they can expect. They then set annual budgets and tax rates.
An increase in taxable value means they will collect more money from property owners even if they keep their tax rate the same as the previous year.
Unless governments lower their tax rate, homeowners will face higher property tax bills at a time when inflation and rising interest rates are straining family budgets.
To prevent a tax increase entirely, elected officials would have to use the “rolled-back” rate, which state law requires them to calculate. That rate would generate the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year, not counting any taxes that come from new construction.
Municipalities rarely go to the rolled-back rate because of their rising costs.
For example, Boca Raton usually lowers its tax rate by a minuscule amount, which allows city leaders to say they have cut the rate while the city still benefits from increased tax revenue.
Homeowners with homesteaded properties, however, don’t feel the full impact of rising values because state law caps the taxable value increase to 3%. Non-homesteaded properties are capped at 10%.
Taxable value numbers are based on market conditions as of Jan. 1, so they do not reflect any changes in 2026. They will be submitted to the Florida Department of Revenue once finalized at the end of June. Local governments set their property tax rates in September.
But there’s a wild card this year that could reduce the amount of revenue governments can collect from homeowners in the future.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he would like to see property taxes eliminated for almost all homesteaded properties.
State lawmakers on June 2 passed his initiative calling for a November ballot measure to amend the state constitution to allow the legislature to reduce property taxes on a large portion of homesteaded properties through property tax exemptions.
The potential for a massive revenue loss is deeply concerning to local officials who are expected to provide a host of services ranging from running water and maintaining parks to providing public safety.
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