Real estate
BY JAMES T. NORMAN
Home Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Home Edition! This guide features news ranging from key real estate trends and new developments unique to your neighborhood to an overview of the housing industry across Texas. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting local businesses. In this edition, we explore multifamily developments in the market and how some cities are seeking them out, while others are avoiding them. We also ask a home insurer what residents can do to keep their premiums low. Lastly, you can read about the real estate market for May and how it compared to May 2023.
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James T. Norman Editor jnorman@ communityimpact.com
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What's inside
Q&A about home insurance premiums (Page 14)
Residential development helps Alvin ISD grow (Page 15)
Multifamily vs. single-family housing (Page 16)
Manvel approves 10% homestead exemption to cut taxes level of a homestead exemption, city officials said June 10. Manvel is the lone major city in Brazoria County without one for the wider community. Others in the area include:
Homeowners in Manvel will now have a 10% homestead exemption on their property tax bills after City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance at its June 17 meeting. What you need to know The new exemption is expected to net residents a savings of around $186 on the city portion of their property tax bills, but officials cautioned that those numbers, as well as revenue for the city, are still just estimates at this point. Budget estimates show the exemption will cost the city’s budget around $952,000 in revenue. Prior to the homestead exemption, city officials were looking at a projected nearly $1.9 million surplus for its fiscal year 2024-25 budget, accord- ing to agenda documents. The exemption, in addition to a 3% cost-of-living adjustment totaling around $300,000, will leave a surplus of roughly $600,000. However, officials clarified that these numbers are just estimates and final tax bills will depend on certified home values, as well as what tax rate the city approves later in the year. The background Over 60% of cities in Brazoria County have some
Breaking down the exemption The homestead exemption will mean residents are only taxed on 90% of their property’s total value. Average home value $333,305
• Pearland: 2.5% • Angleton: 3% • Iowa Colony: 10%
- $33,330
10% homestead exemption
$299,975 × 0.56 cents
Home taxable value Manvel tax rate
• Alvin: 20% • Clute: 20% • Freeport: 20%
$1,680 ($186 in savings)
Tax bill
NOTE: SAVINGS BASED ON CITY’S 2024 RESIDENTIAL-ONLY APPRAISAL ROLL
In a survey from last year, more than 70% of res- idents said they didn’t want taxes to go up. Mayor Dan Davis said he has also seen that a majority of residents would rather delay projects if it meant their taxes could go down. Budget discussions will begin in July, with August and September being when the city makes final decisions on the tax rate and budget, Davis said June 18. “This is the first time in a long time Manvel has given its citizens a tax break and I am excited to have worked with a great council and great team at city hall to deliver this for our community,” Davis said June 18.
Prior to the homestead exemption, Manvel was projecting a surplus of a little less than $1.9M for its fiscal year 2024-25 budget. Surplus allocation
Remaining surplus: $646K
Homestead exemption: $952K
Original projected surplus: $1.9M
Salary increases for city staff: $300K
NOTE: THESE TOTALS ARE ESTIMATES AND UNOFFICIAL SOURCE: CITY OF MANVEL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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