6 days ago
Topping $5 billion: Thousands of new homes lift Palm Beach County's new-construction value
The value of new construction in Palm Beach County will top $5 billion this year as thousands of new residences are added.
This is according to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks, who recently told county commissioners about the state of the market from last year and what to expect this year.
New construction value also hit $5 billion in taxable value in 2024 with nearly 6,500 'new livable units added to the tax roll for 2025,' Jacks said during a recent public County Commission meeting. And the new construction estimates for this year include more than 3,000 new homes and more than 4,000 rentals.
'In Palm Beach County, we still have a lot of land to build on and also the cost of construction is rising, which causes the new construction values to rise because all of that new construction is being better built, probably more solidly built, and so I suspect we'll see a continuation of these high new construction numbers over the next few years,' Jacks said.
Palm Beach County Chief Appraiser Cecil Jackson explained that the $5 billion in taxable value is essentially the same as assessed value, which is a property's deemed worth. This is different from market value, which is the cost for which the property would sell.
Adding the $5 billion in new construction ultimately means a 'widening of the tax base for all taxpayers in Palm Beach County,' said Becky Robinson, a spokesperson for the Property Appraiser's Office.
And for prospective buyers who may want a property that is newer and more 'vibrant,' rather than buying a used property, the new construction is good news for them, too, Jackson said.
'It's just a lot like buying a new car. Some people like new cars. Some people like used cars. It just depends on the motivation of the buyer,' he said.
The county also is 'insulated' in many ways from the inevitable development problems that will be spurred by the slowing economy, Jacks said.
'We still have a lot of interest from people who want to develop in this particular area in Florida but also in South Florida and really Palm Beach County is right there at the center of it now as Broward is built out,' Jacks said. 'Broward really is east-to-west built out. They can only go up now, and Miami-Dade certainly still has a fair bit of land to build but also a very large population already.'
Jackson called Palm Beach County's market a 'robust' one.
'We have very diverse types of property here throughout the county from mobile homes to multimillion-dollar, single-family properties to the condominiums,' he said.
