Market values increased in Wilton Manors as the trend of newcomers continued even during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data provided by the Broward County Property Appraiser shows market value for all city properties in 2021 is $2,429,043,190. That’s an increase of 6.36% from the 2020 market value of $2,283,633,640.
Taxable value rose by 6.30% in 2021 to $1,668,224,486 from $1,588,137,599 in 2020. The city’s millage rate stayed the same at 5.8360.
“Even though there’s been a significant increase in value, even though the taxable value has increased more than 6% and even though there’s more money coming in the bulk of that money is not being paid for by your homestead property owners because their value couldn’t go up more than 1.14%,” said Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar. “It’s really based on the fact that a lot of people are moving from other states and making Wilton Manors their home and that’s really what’s driving up those increases.”
Kiar gave a presentation to the Wilton Manors city commission at its Oct. 12 meeting. The property appraiser’s office has three important functions, Kiar said: determining property value, providing exemptions and investigating fraud.
The fraud division, Kiar said, is a very aggressive unit of investigators that have put more than $27 million in value back on the tax roll in recent years in Wilton Manors.
“They are all former law enforcement people,” Kiar said. “They love this stuff and you do not want to see them at your door."
Kiar said investigators look to see if addresses on utility bills match with those listed on an owner’s property records to determine if a homesteader is in compliance.
Wilton Manors, Kiar said, has 2,999 homestead exempt properties. Of that number 149 have a senior exemption, 18 are long-term senior exemptions, 19 are fully exempted veterans, two receive a veteran’s discount and one is a tax-exempt first responder.
In 2021, 84 Wilton Manors residents were granted portability, a transfer of their exemption from one property to another, for a value of $6,934,940.
A new program is scheduled to go into effect for next year that will provide an exemption for seniors who have lived in their homes for more than 25 years and have an income below $31,100. Commissioners must approve the program before Dec. 1.
Overall, there are 4,656 residential properties in Wilton Manors. Of that number, 2,986 are single-family and 1,670 are condominiums. The average market value for a single-family home is $472,272 and the taxable value is $291,824. A condominium’s average market value is $187,615 with a $133,716 taxable value.
Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar (right) greets members of the Broward Democratic Party in Plantation. File photo by John McDonald.
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