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Property appraiser reports big taxable-value growth; office asks for staff, flags median-sale trend
Summary
Marion County Property Appraiser Jimmy (Tom) Cowan reported a 12.51% preliminary increase in taxable value for 2025, including roughly $1.9 billion attributable to new construction; appraiser's office seeks a modest budget increase and offered to provide periodic deed and median-sale trend reports to the commission.
Tom (Jimmy) Cowan, Marion County property appraiser, told commissioners the 2025 preliminary assessment roll showed a marked increase in taxable value and that his office submitted the roll early to the Department of Revenue.
Cowan said Marion County's preliminary taxable value exceeded $38,000,000,000, a 12.51% increase from the prior year, with about $1,900,000,000 of the increase attributed to new construction. Cowan said he submitted the office's proposed FY2025-26 budget to the Department of Revenue as required by statute 195.087 and received provisional approval noting slight reductions tied to retirement rates.
Cowan's requested budget for the property appraiser's office is $6,950,940 (a 5.39% increase, or about $355,183), with $5,181,332 allocated from the general fund, Cowan said. The office cited rising personnel liabilities, benefits and operating costs as drivers, and included a 5% pay-raise assumption for employees.
Assistant property appraiser Laney provided data on transaction counts and median sale prices. Laney said recorded instruments (deeds, transfers) peaked near 49,000 at the market height and had fallen to about 41,000'42,000 in recent months. On median single-family site-built home sales (0.01 to 1.5 acre), Laney said the January'June 2025 period showed a 3.4% decrease compared with the same six months a year earlier; mobile-home median selling prices showed a 6.5% decrease.
Cowan and Laney told commissioners they can provide quarterly reports showing recorded instruments, transfers and median selling prices if the commission would like to track mid-year trends to help with future budget and millage forecasting. Commissioner Curry asked for regular updates on deed counts and median prices; Cowan and Laney said the ownership department generates monthly reports and offered to send those to the county administrator.
Why it matters: Rapid taxable-value growth increases county revenue capacity and affects millage calculations for future budgets; but declining median-sale indicators and reduced instrument counts earlier in 2025 suggest the market may be cooling, which county leaders said they want to monitor.
What's next: Cowan offered to provide monthly or quarterly deed and median-sale reports to county staff and commissioners; the property appraiser's office awaits Department of Revenue final roll approval and will proceed with the FY2025-26 budget as provisionally approved.
