Although Florida as a whole has been heating up lately in the real estate market, one county in Florida is specifically seeing an acceleration in the housing recovery. That county is Brevard County. There, according to recent data, properties’ taxable value has increased by 8 percent, compared with last year. This is a sign that residential real estate in the county, as well as in other parts of Florida, may be a promising long-term investment.
For the second year in a row now, property values in the Florida county have gone up. This is major news considering that property values actually declined for five straight years -- during a real estate cooling-off period -- prior to the recent upswing in values. The period of decline occurred when the housing market plummeted as a result of being overheated.
Properties’ taxable value in Brevard County is nearly $28 billion: This is a jump from more than $24.5 billion a couple of years ago. It’s also an increase from close to $26 billion in 2013. Still, it is much lower than it was at its peak in 2007, which was nearly $41 billion. It's worth noting that the greatest gains have taken place in areas near the beaches. The median home price in the county was more than $130,000 in March of this year, an increase from nearly $120,000 last year; these properties used to sell for about $70,000 a few years ago.
As the real estate markets in Brevard County and other parts of Florida continue to rebound, it may be a rewarding time to participate in a residential real estate transaction. However, the process can be more painful than rewarding if people hit bumps along the way that they’re not prepared for. It may be essential to fully understand applicable Florida real estate laws so that one’s real estate deal will work in his or her favor.
Source: floridatoday.com, "Brevard property values keep climbing", Dave Berman and Wayne T. Price, May 17, 2014