( NewsNation ) — Property tax bills are up in most major U.S. cities compared to before the pandemic and have risen especially fast in Florida, according to a new Redfin analysis .
Redfin found that the median property tax bill has increased nearly 30% nationwide since 2019, hitting $250 a month as of August. But in some places, monthly payments have shot up twice as fast as the national average.
Florida is home to five of the top 10 cities where property tax bills are up the most. In Jacksonville and Tampa, monthly property tax payments are up nearly 60% compared to 2019. In Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, those payments have jumped around 50%.
Florida is home to the fastest-cooling housing markets in the US The latest report underscores yet another challenge for the Sunshine State’s housing market, which is facing cooling demand , rising HOA fees , hurricane damage and skyrocketing insurance costs .
But it’s not all bad news for Florida homeowners. Part of the reason property tax bills are up is because home values have surged.
“Florida was alluring for remote workers during the pandemic because of its relatively affordable housing. Somewhat ironically, the state’s population boom has driven up home prices, and property taxes along with it,” Elijah de la Campa, a senior economist at Redfin, said in the report.
What Trump and Harris say they will do about affordable housing Natural disasters are another reason property tax bills have increased in Florida, as the state invests more in climate-resiliency projects, Redfin noted.
In total dollar terms, Floridians still pay considerably less in property taxes each month compared to homeowners in many of the nation’s major cities.
Fort Lauderdale homeowners have the highest monthly property tax payment of the major Florida metros, $425, but that’s only a fraction of the typical bill in cities across New York, New Jersey and California.
In Nassau County, New York (Long Island), the median monthly property tax bill is $905 — the highest in the nation. In Newark, New Jersey, it’s $848, and in New York City, it’s $821.
Out west, homeowners in San Jose pay $782 a month, while those in San Francisco pay $702.
On the other end of the spectrum, monthly property tax bills are lowest in Phoenix ($151), Nashville ($152), Charlotte ($157), Las Vegas ($167) and Detroit ($174).
Of the nation’s 50 most-populated metros, only Las Vegas and Pittsburgh have seen property tax bills decline since 2019.
As for property tax rates, Texans face the highest burden. Effective property tax rates — the average rate homeowners pay as a percentage of their home’s value — are highest in Austin (1.8%). San Antonio and Houston weren’t far behind at 1.7%.
The tax burden in Lone Star State means property taxes make up 20% of a homeowner’s total monthly housing bill in Austin, more than anywhere else in the country. Property taxes were also a significant chunk of the monthly bill in San Antonio (19%), Houston (19%) and Fort Worth (18%), Redfin said.
Nationally, the average effective tax rate has fallen since 2019, dropping from 0.77% to 0.67% in August. That’s because home prices have increased more than the tax rates set by local governments, but most homeowners are paying more in dollar terms despite that decline.
Property tax bills have jumped the most in Indianapolis (66.7%) and Atlanta (65.8%) over the past five years — two areas that have seen home values rise and an increase in the effective tax rate.
“Even though they’re paying more out of their pocket every month, property tax revenue is used to improve schools and parks, and those things can make a neighborhood more desirable and push up home values,” Redfin said in the report.
The Redfin analysis was based on property tax records and MLS data for single-family homes among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas as of August 2024. Comparisons to 2019 are through August 2019.
The 10 major U.S. cities where monthly property tax bills have risen the most since 2019, according to Redfin:
- Indianapolis, IN: 66.7%
- Atlanta, GA: 65.8%
- Jacksonville, FL: 59.6%
- Tampa, FL: 56.7%
- Miami, FL: 48.1%
- Fort Lauderdale, FL: 48.0%
- Orlando, FL: 46.7%
- Fort Worth, TX: 44.1%
- San Antonio, TX: 43.4%
- Dallas, TX: 40.8%
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