$5 billion in new construction to be added to Palm Beach County tax rolls

Yahoo

20-05-2025

Twenty-two new apartment complexes were added to the tax rolls last year in Palm Beach County, producing nearly 3,800 rental units. And 3,000 single-family homes were also built. That new construction accounts for nearly $5 billion in new taxable value.
Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks disclosed the information during a recent county commission meeting as she briefed commissioners on what property values look like for 2024.
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She told commissioners that one of the biggest takeaways is the strength of the residential market. In addition to the new apartment complexes that have come onto the tax roll, more than 2,700 single-family homes were added to the tax rolls with some of them selling for more than $1 million.
"The residential housing market continues to be quite strong," she said.
State law requires county appraisers to estimate the values of properties each year as of Jan. 1. So, Jacks' appraisers are reviewing sales data for 2024 and will estimate values as of Jan. 1, 2025.
New construction routinely hits the tax roll once a certificate of occupancy is issued or if the appraiser finds that the building is substantially complete. Overall assessment figures will be provided to county budget officials in June to help set the tax rate for the county.
More: Palm Beach County's record market value: More than a half-trillion dollars
The early data shows that while the number of residential sales in 2024 declined by 3% from 2023, the median (or midpoint) sales price was up 5%. As for the first quarter of 2025, she said sales have again slowed and sale prices have declined by 4%. "We will await to see what the rest of 2025 brings," she said.
More: County property values skyrocketed in 2023 - what drove it and what it means for your taxes
Rent Café called Palm Beach County one of the country's top 10 most in-demand small-rental markets. In 2024, an average of 13 prospective renters vied for every vacant unit. With a vacancy rate of just 5%, apartment developers are looking to meet the demand for new rental units. Those market-rent units are expected to be difficult for many workers to afford.
Of the 3,800 rental units that were built in 2024 in Palm Beach County, about 25% of them were set aside for workforce or affordable housing, according to the Housing Leadership Council, which calls the lack of affordable and workforce housing "a crisis" that is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to attract and retain employees.
"Housing prices and rental rates continue to rise at a pace that far exceeds workforce income growth," the Council concluded in a recent report.
Jack Weir, the chairman of the Housing Coalition, said the addition of 3,800 market rental units will help to at least stabilize rent increases. He attributed the relatively high number to "a burst of production" that took place in late 2021 and 2022 when interest rates were as low as 3%.
"That is a high-water mark that I don't think we will see for a while now," Weir said. "It also took a lot longer to complete projects with supply-chain issues and labor shortages."
As for those new apartment complexes that were built in 2024, they included:
350 S. Australian Avenue in West palm Beach. It features a 22-story tower with 457 apartments on 1.4 acres. It has 7,000 square feet of commercial space, 628 parking spots and more than 35,000 square feet of amenities, including a swimming pool and an amenity deck. The preliminary assessment is $114 million, or $250,000 a unit.
575 Rosemary Apartments, built on the site of a former Macy's department store in the CityPlace complex downtown. The 361unit, 495,000-square-foot, 21-story mixed-use tower is expected to be assessed at $100 million, or $277,000 a unit.
2085 S. Congress Ave. in Palm Springs. The project, near the old YMCA site, includes 11, three-story buildings with 264 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms. The complex is expected to be assessed at $56 million, or $212,000 per unit.
In Boynton Beach, Wells Landing, a 24-apartment project, was assessed at $5 million, or $208,000 per unit.
The rent that some of these new apartment complexes are expected to charge will make it difficult for workers to afford. According to the 2024 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $2,226 per month. To afford this without financial strain, a tenant would need to earn nearly $90,000 a year, far exceeding the county's average annual wage of $70,979. As a result, 55% of renters in Palm Beach County are considered cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
As for new single-family homes, GL Homes again led the county with nearly 500 new high-end homes built in 2024 at its Lotus and Valencia Grand developments. The homebuilder is currently building its 12th Valencia, Valencia Del Mar, a complex of 481 single-family homes off Lyons Road west of Boynton Beach.
While assessment figures were unavailable for the single-family developments, homes in the GL developments sell for more than $1 million. Nearly 600 homes were sold in Westlake, 320 in Avenir, 129 in Cresswind and 109 at Delray Trails. Those sales alone account for more than $1 billion in newly assessed value.
"New construction is something that can change drastically from year to year, and warrants watching carefully so as not to necessarily rely on it," Jacks said at the commission meeting.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues concerning HOAs. You can reach him at [e-mail]. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County tax rolls get $5 billion boost from new construction