September 6, 2025 “Real Estate Matters” Video Podcast

Real Estate Matters, for over 11 years, the voice of real estate for Palm Coast and Flagler County. Sponsored by Veranda Bay, the new luxury Intracoastal Community in Flagler Beach.

Does Growth Pay for Itself? Rethinking the Question: Population growth helps mitigate the growing costs of government, benefiting existing Florida homeowners.

Raw Show Notes

Our guide to the show’s flow, covering many topics we didn’t have time to get to on the show. This is raw and likely contains typos. Data reflects the date of the show’s recording.

Show Notes 9-6-2025

Recorded 9-4-2025

Welcome to Real Estate Matters, for over 11 years, the voice of real estate in Flagler County and Palm Coast, Florida.

I’m Toby Tobin, the publisher of GoToby.com, contributor to the Palm Coast Observer, and a Florida-licensed Realtor with The Landmark Group at Compass. Co-host, Annamaria Long is in the studio with me today.

Thanks to Our Sponsors:

• Our Lead Sponsor is Veranda Bay – A private developing community of lots and luxury homes on the Intracoastal Waterway in Flagler Beach, featuring custom homes by Olsen Homes, AR Homes by Arthur Rutenberg, ICI Homes, and Hulbert Homes. Newly opened sections feature homes by Toll Brothers and Dream Finders. To learn more, visit VerandaBay.com.
• Flagler County Home Builders Association
• Hammock Community Church – On A1A in The Hammock – Small enough to know you but large enough to serve you. North of the toll bridge with the message sign out front. It’s not just for Hammockians. Like me, many people cross the bridge.

Hammock Community Church

Celebration of Music

• Tuesday September 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
• 4-Handed Piano Duet featuring:
• Katya Feldman and Margarita Lans
• Free Admission – Freewill offering appreciated
• Formal dress if you like but not required
• Hammock Community Church, 2599 N Ocean Shore Blvd – 1 ½ miles north of the toll bridge on the east side of A1A

August results

• 224 Homes sold via the Flagler MLS at $365,000 vs 259 homes at $355K last August DOM=75
• $250K and lower = 6, 3 cash, DOM 15
• $1M+ = 6, 3 cash, DOM 120
• Homes listed – 1,367 and 6.1 months of inventory
• Homes Pending – 318
• Median Price of homes pending – $389K
• Total SFR permits last August – 251 permits
• GINNdex is down from 4.9 to 4.3

News:

Four unlicensed contractors have been arrested following a multiphase undercover operation in Flagler County, deputies say.

Discuss the dangers of using unlicensed contractors.

Does Growth Pay for Itself? Rethinking the Question

Understanding the Cost of Growth

September 3, 2025 – PALM COAST, Fla. – The question “Does growth pay for itself?” is often asked as communities expand. Providing more public services for a growing population brings significant expenses. Yet, even in the absence of growth, the costs to maintain infrastructure—roads, utilities, parks, fire and police departments, and libraries—naturally rise faster than the rate of inflation.

Rather than asking if growth pays for itself, it may be more accurate to consider whether population growth helps offset the ever-increasing costs of government facing existing residents. In many respects, it does.

Homeowner Associations (HOA) and Community Development Districts (CDD)

In Florida and other states experiencing growth, municipalities generally no longer accept responsibility for maintaining new development infrastructure once construction is complete. Developers bear the cost of building common areas, streets, stormwater systems, streetlights, sidewalks, and amenities—expenses that are ultimately passed on to those purchasing new homes.

New developments now require the formation of entities like homeowner associations or community development districts to maintain infrastructure for the community indefinitely. These organizations assess property owners, often charging several hundred dollars per month.

An exception exists for water and sewer systems: developers (and thus new homeowners) pay for construction, but municipalities typically take over these systems after completion without compensating the developer, since these systems become valuable sources of ongoing municipal revenue.

Residents of new communities do not receive tax breaks for their additional costs. They pay for their private stormwater management system, which serves their entire development, and are still taxed for municipal-wide stormwater maintenance. By using their own amenities, they lessen demand on public parks and trails but continue to pay taxes to support municipal facilities.

Impact Fees

Each single-family building permit in Palm Coast generates over $25,000 in impact and connection fees for the city (not including school district fees). These fees are about 25 times greater than the annual property tax paid by non-homesteaded homeowners, and roughly 50 times that paid by homesteaded city residents. Impact fees are earmarked for capital projects, which benefit the entire community—not just newcomers. The resulting advantage for long-term homeowners is significant.

Homesteading and Save Our Homes

New Florida homeowners encounter the state’s Homestead and Save Our Homes laws. The January after their purchase, their home’s value is reassessed at “True Value,” and eligible homeowners receive a homestead exemption, setting the Taxable Value equal to the Assessed Value.

In subsequent years, Save Our Homes limits assessment increases to the lower of the Consumer Price Index or 3%. This creates a growing gap between True Value and Assessed Value, thus reducing Taxable Value. In Palm Coast, non-homesteaded property owners pay nearly twice as much city property tax as homesteaded owners.

Since all residents have access to the same public services, the Save Our Homes tax savings amount to a form of subsidy. City analysis from 2023 showed that 75.3% of homes were homesteaded, but these accounted for only 62.8% of property taxes paid.

Growth in Taxable Value and Home Prices

New construction has added $2.9 trillion to Flagler County’s taxable property value since 2022. New construction is the true measure of population growth. When an existing homesteaded Floridian buys a new construction home, they may port their Save Our Homes Saving to the newly constructed home, but the transaction still frees up the existing home for a newly arrived Floridian. The sale of the existing home will still trigger a reset of the Assessed Value to the Just Value and raising the Taxable Value.

 The county’s total Just Value has increased by 20.4% since 2022, rising from $22.5 trillion to $27.1 trillion (2025). Meanwhile, the Taxable Value jumped 42.5%, from $12.7 trillion to $18.1 trillion. Both rising prices and new construction contributed to the rise.

The median MLS home price in Flagler County climbed from $240,000 in 2019 (pre-Covid) to $365,000 in 2024. Those with homesteaded homes in 2019 saw their equity rise by an average 52%. During those years, homesteaded owners protected by Save Our Homes experienced minimal property tax hikes.

Between 2022 and 2024, the City of Palm Coast’s budget increased by 29.8%, from $238,668,786 to $309,699,522. Even after adjusting for inflation and population growth, the budget still climbed by 16%. Yet the city’s millage rate declined 7.7% during the same period.

The evidence strongly supports that population growth helps mitigate the growing costs of government, offering real financial benefits for existing homeowners.

Wrap up:

If you have a question or a suggestion for the show, reach out to me.

(386) 931-7124 or email me at Toby@GoToby.com

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