Property values have soared by nearly 50% on Fort Myers Beach, a community devastated by Hurricane Ian.
The final tax roll for Lee County shows an even bigger jump than the preliminary one – at 47.99%, up from an estimated 36.37% a month ago.
The final report was submitted to the Florida Department of Revenue on July 1, a month after the preliminary roll was released, as required by state law.
Although the numbers have changed a bit, the sharp contrast between Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island still stands out most.
On Sanibel, the decline in property values has lessened to -8.95% from -10.44%, with more data crunched over the past few weeks. But it’s still a drop.
It’s a reflection of the recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian, with Fort Myers Beach much farther ahead in its comeback. More properties have changed hands and there’s been more new construction in the town, pushing up market and taxable values. The town’s just – or market – values rose to more than $5.34 billion in 2024, up from about $3.6 billion last year.