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The overall value of property in Pinellas County shot up 8.7 percent last year, a relatively large increase that should please government officials trying to balance their budgets.
But the same numbers could lead to higher property tax bills for many Pinellas residents, because the value of their homes and business buildings generally has increased.
Pinellas Property Appraiser Jim Smith released figures Wednesday calculating the county's overall assessment for tax purposes as $49.5-billion.
The increase was due not only to the rising value of existing property in the county, but also to the value of new construction, which increased 30 percent over the previous year.
The figures showed St. Petersburg's overall property value increased 8.1 percent, a high figure considering that $130-million was taken off the city's property tax rolls last year when the county took ownership of Tropicana Field in a tax-saving maneuver.
The previous year, the city's assessment increased just 6.7 percent.
Beachfront cities racked up the biggest increases in values:
20 percent in Indian Shores.
18.4 percent in Redington Beach.
17.1 percent in Madeira Beach.
15.9 percent in Redington Shores.
15.8 percent in Belleair Shore.
Smith said when he gives speeches, people often ask if their assessments are likely to increase.
He tells them: "If you live on a golf course or on water, I will guarantee you that it's probably going to go up," because the market for homes in those areas has increased steadily.
"No question, that's a figure that looks very good to us," County Commissioner Bob Stewart said Wednesday, referring to the county's overall 8.7 percent increase. "We're between a rock and a hard place with regard to the budget process this year."
The county's assessment increased 7.6 percent the previous year.
When the overall assessment increases, the same property tax rate generates more money for city and county governments.
The numbers weren't such cheery news for Janet Hoppe, who has lived in the same Indian Shores home overlooking the Gulf of Mexico for 38 years.
"My taxes have gone from something like $3,000 to $12,000," said Hoppe, a retiree and former Indian Shores commissioner.
She said $1,000 a month in taxes is hard to afford.
She understands that rising market values lead to rising assessments, but says, "I don't think it should go up because they built big condos around you."
When homeowners' assessments increase, they pay higher property tax bills, assuming there is no change in the tax rate. But the increase in those assessments is limited to 3 percent per year for people with homestead exemptions.
Seminole's assessment shot up 18.3 percent, but $83-million worth of annexations was responsible for most of the increase, Smith said.
The figures released Wednesday are estimates that will be refined later. Local governments use the figures for budgeting purposes.