BREA has received several complaints about property tax bills – Eye Witness News

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) President Christine Wallace-Whitfield said yesterday that the industry association and its members have received several complaints about 2022 property tax bills, recounting Eyewitness News, “a lot of people were shocked”.

Wallace-Whitfield said: “We have received many complaints about property tax increases. It threw us into a bit of a loop. We didn’t see that coming. Many people were shocked. The first thing they do is contact BREA. I’ve seen people say it’s gone up 200-300%.

Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said yesterday that while property tax rates across the country have not increased, a comprehensive reassessment of the property tax register has led to some properties being reassessed.

According to Halkitis, there was a significant undervaluation of certain properties.

“Rates haven’t jumped; they stayed the same,” he said.

“What happened is that we completed a total reassessment of the property tax registry.”

Wallace-Whitfield also noted that the real estate sector has seen an increase in sales despite the pandemic.

“We’ve seen an increase in sales and that’s been great for a lot of companies who have been able to see an increase in sales which has been a huge benefit for them,” she said.

“It really started towards the end of 2020 when we started to see sales increase and in 2021 there has been a steady increase in sales. I’m sure Treasury was grateful. We’re still seeing a lot of people wanting getting into the real estate business Overall, 2021 has been a good year for many real estate agents and brokerage firms.