Marty Karim, Broward County property appraiser, told the City of Parkland City Commission on Oct. 22 that property values and taxable values in Parkland increased in 2025 and urged residents to sign up for the office’s Owner Alert program to detect title fraud.

Karim said overall market value for Parkland increased from about $12.8 billion in 2024 to about $13.422 billion in 2025 — a gain he put at roughly 4.66 percent — and that taxable value rose from about $8.1 billion to about $8.7 billion, an increase he described as roughly 6.7 percent. "You have, I believe, the lowest millage rate in the entire county, at 4.2979," Karim said, and he said that the rise in taxable value produced about $2,357,000 more revenue for the city this year compared with last.

Why it matters: Karim said most Parkland homeowners are protected by the homestead cap on annual assessment growth, which limits annual increases and means much of the revenue growth reflects in‑migrants and new construction. He also highlighted the role of county exemptions and the risk that title fraud poses to homeowners’ equity.

Karim summarized several local statistics: 9,731 homestead exemptions in Parkland; 103 low‑income senior exemptions; 458 widows receiving an exemption; 88 veterans with 100 percent permanent disability exemptions; five first responders with full exemptions; and an average single‑family sale price he estimated at about $1,237,000 while the average taxable value for those homes was about $705,000. Karim said condominium parcels number about 436, with an average sale price of roughly $539,000 and an average taxable value of about $333,000.

On fraud and Owner Alert: Karim described South Florida as a frequent target for title fraud and explained the office’s Owner Alert system, which notifies a property owner when documents that could change title are recorded. He said residents can sign up at bcpa.net by providing a name, email and parcel ID or by uploading identification to verify ownership. "If any document legitimate or not is filed changing ownership, you'll be notified instantaneously by email, by text message, even get a hard copy in the mail," he said.

Karim said about 303,000 Broward property owners had enrolled in Owner Alert and that Parkland had the highest share of homesteaded owners enrolled — about 60 percent of Parkland homesteaded owners. He described the county office’s Crimes Against Property Team, a partnership he said the state Department of Revenue approved; Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives assigned to the unit; and an assistant state attorney working with the team on prosecutions.

He gave examples of prosecutions and sentences, including multi‑year prison terms in several cases and a 15‑year sentence from a jury conviction this summer. Karim said the office and law enforcement had obtained arrests, convictions and work to return title in many cases but said financial recovery for victims is often limited.

Mayor Walker thanked Karim and the commission noted the value of public education about exemptions and the risks of fraud. Karim repeated the signup instruction and offered help to residents who receive the Truth in Millage notice next August: "If you have any concerns, give me a call so we can go through it together so you only pay your fair share of property taxes," he said.

The presentation closed with commissioners and the mayor thanking Karim and noting they would direct staff to share information about the Owner Alert signup and the county’s forthcoming Truth in Millage mailings.