NATIONAL
$117B In Office Debt Coming Due This Year, Pushing Some Big Owners To The Brink

BisNow

A total of $117B in mortgages associated with office properties will be due this year, the Financial Times reports, citing Mortgage Bankers Association data, with an unspecified number of them at risk of default as refinancing proves difficult or impossible in the current climate. “It's going to be a problem to get some of these refinancings done,” Polsinelli Real Estate Finance Chair John Duncan told FT. 

State lawmakers seek to limit property tax increases as home values soar

Stateline

Soaring home values have increased property taxes for millions of homeowners in recent years, prompting action from state lawmakers to lighten the burden. “The biggest problem was they just went up so quickly. … I think that's one of the reasons why it became this rallying cry from the people asking for tax relief,” said Idaho state Rep. Jason Monks, a Republican. 

LOUISIANA
Spiker to take over as assessor as Barras departs for Baton Rouge

The Daily Iberian

Although the departure of Taylor Barras is bittersweet for the Iberia Parish Tax Assessor's Office, the department's crucial work should continue without a hitch as Chief Deputy Ashlie Spiker will officially assume the role after being sworn into office next week. Barras will be ending his tenure as tax assessor for the parish after being tapped by Landry to become the commissioner of administration for the State of Louisiana, one of the most crucial jobs in a governor's office.

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston landlords are ready to fight the city on building values

BizJournal

This is the year, experts predict, that downtown building owners and managers will apply for property-tax abatements in significant numbers, in a way they have not since Covid-19's arrival.

PENNSYLVANIA
3 Downtown Pittsburgh skyscrapers won property assessment cuts. Are more on the way?

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Three Downtown skyscrapers, including U.S. Steel Tower and PNC's headquarters, have won huge reductions in their property assessments, with officials predicting that it could be the part of a wave of cuts that could upend the local tax base. The assessment on the Tower at PNC Plaza, the bank's Wood Street nerve center, has been cut by more than half, from $147.2 million to $72.3 million for 2022 and 2023, a reduction of $74.8 million.

TENNESSEE
Taxing times in Tennessee: Poll reveals state intervention preferred for property tax decisions

News Channel 9

The new year is bringing higher property taxes to homeowners in our viewing area. Now, a new poll shows a majority of Tennesseans would rather have the state handle property taxes, not their local government. A Beacon Center poll released Thursday found when it comes to property tax increases, Tennessee residents want the state government to intervene.

TEXAS
Fort Worth City Council looks to stop letting developers opt out of affordable housing

Fort Worth Report

Developers soon won't be able to opt out of building affordable housing if an amendment is approved by City Council at its upcoming Jan. 23 meeting. Fort Worth is looking to amend its code to remove the opt-out option for developers and encourage the construction of more affordable housing in Neighborhood Empowerment Zones, distressed areas where the city works to promote economic development and social services in the city core.

Property tax payments postponed for Texas residents older than 65-year-old or disabled

Fox26 Houston

Texans who are 65 years old or older or defined by law as disabled may postpone paying current and delinquent property taxes on their homes by signing a tax deferral affidavit at the Harris Central Appraisal District office. Once the affidavit is on file, taxes are deferred – but not cancelled – as long as the owner continues to qualify for the exemption.

New Harrison County chief appraiser outlines challenges, goals

Marshall News Messenger

Since coming aboard in September, newly-hired Harrison Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Lee Flowers has hit the ground running, making the need for accurate property valuations a top priority. “I promised the commissioners the values were going to go up, and I promised that the values were going to go down and that they were going to stay the same. All three of those things are going to take place.