Large tax cuts needed to revive housing market, Broward real estate agents say

By Anthony Man
Political Writer
Posted June 8 2007

 Fort Lauderdale -- A delegation from Broward County's real estate industry implored state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, on Thursday to push for the deepest possible property tax cuts during next week's special legislative session.

Several of the 15 real estate agents and others who work in related areas told Bogdanoff that the escalation in property taxes during recent years has helped choke their business -- and threatens more far-reaching damage to the regional economy.

"It has to be made affordable again. That is the issue," said Diane Hedges, an agent with Coldwell Banker in Fort Lauderdale.

Bogdanoff promised change was coming from Tallahassee. Although the tax cuts might not be as great as some would like, she assured the group that "we're going to see some reductions in taxes in this next tax bill."

Her answers contained so much of what the real estate representatives wanted to hear that they applauded her at the end of the session and the organizer said he came away confident that relief was imminent.

Bogdanoff was critical of what she regards as excess local government spending during this decade's real estate boom. Rapidly increasing property values generated what she termed a windfall, allowing local governments to sharply increase spending.

She said it's possible to live on less. "All you have to do is go back to college and think of how creative you got to make that $25 last until Sunday."

Such sentiment resonated with the real estate agents. When her income goes down, Hedges said, "instead of going out to dinner three times a week, we go out once a week. They can do the same thing."

Miramar Mayor Lori Moseley, immediate past president of the Broward League of Cities, wasn't there. But she had a different perspective later Thursday.

"Along with these cuts automatically will go cuts in services. There is no way around that. That's where the money is spent," she said.

Tom Wolf, an agent with Re/Max Alliance in Fort Lauderdale, said broad reform is needed to produce more equity in the system. People who have lived in homes they have owned for a long time have been protected from the higher taxes driven by increases in property values because of the Save Our Homes system. That caps growth in the taxable value of homesteaded property to 3 percent a year.

Wolf said that means longtime, older residents -- who are the most frequent voters and command the most respect from local politicians -- don't have any incentive to complain about increasing government spending.

"The whole tax structure is skewed to the voting population," he said. "Unfortunately, the younger population doesn't vote as much as they should."

He was pleased with Bogdanoff's description of proposed changes to the state constitution to grant large-enough exemptions in property values that 70 percent of people would be better off than under the existing Save Our Homes system.

The real estate industry did well during the booming market in the first half of the decade. Now, its representatives say, they're suffering.

"It went from busy to slow to downright nothing," said Joe Roberto, of Roberto & Associates title and closing services. "It's scary."

Bogdanoff said the real estate industry feels the problem more acutely than most, but it is not alone in seeking tax relief.

"The people in this state -- and my BlackBerry is going off every 10 seconds -- are saying they want tax reform."

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4550.