NATIONAL
Small-Business Owners Are Reducing or Eliminating Office Space

Inc.com

The outlook for office space is tied up in the legacy of the pandemic, with fluctuating employee habits and company preferences influencing the market in sometimes cooperative and sometimes clashing currents. Amid this changing and changeable dynamic, it's often difficult to get an accurate read on the state of play between continued remote work and the return to the office.

Crow Holdings Acquires 46-Property Manufactured Housing Portfolio

BisNow

Crow Holdings is doubling down on its commitment to the manufactured housing sector with a 46-property portfolio acquisition spanning six states. The Dallas-based investment and development firm purchased the portfolio through its Crow Holdings Capital platform using a $3.1B fund that closed in February. 

Loan Modifications Shoot Up, Showing 'Extend And Pretend' Is Alive And Well

BisNow

Roughly $162B worth of securitized commercial mortgages were due to mature last year, and many lenders and investors spoke about how the patience with building owners would wear off. While patience may be wearing thin, it hasn't eroded. Loan modifications on CMBS and CRE collateralized loan obligations more than doubled last year.

CALIFORNIA
Why Private Developers Are Rejecting Government Money for Affordable Housing

The Wall Street Journal

A new complex for some of the neediest low-income people doesn't use any of it. By forgoing government assistance and the many regulations and requirements that come with it, SDS Capital Group said the 49-unit apartment building it is financing in South Los Angeles will cost about $291,000 a unit to build.

CONNECTICUT
Proposal would eliminate Connecticut's car tax, raise property taxes

WTNH

A proposal reintroduced by the state legislature this year would phase out Connecticut's vehicle tax by 2028. If passed, Senate Bill 450 would take $5,000 off a vehicle's assessed value this year, and then increase it in increments until it's eliminated altogether. But, it would also increase local property taxes to make up the lost revenue — increasing the real property assessment ratio from 70% to 90%.

IOWA
Bill would let counties decide tax break for timber, fruit tree orchard land

Radio Iowa

County officials could decide if property owners in their county may continue getting a tax exemption for land with timber or fruit trees on it under a bill in the Iowa Senate. The bill, which changes the state's forest preserve program, won House approval with just the 51 votes required for passage.

MONTANA
Are property taxes Montana’s new wedge issue?

Free Press

The supplemental property tax bills heading to property owners around the state this month, made necessary by a November Supreme Court decision, represent a monumental headache for both local tax officials and homeowners. They also illustrate how the tax issue has driven a wedge between Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican seeking re-election this year, and local government leaders across Montana's political spectrum.

NEW YORK
Tallest Tower In Brooklyn Staring Down Foreclosure From Silverstein

BisNow

JDS took out a $240M mezzanine loan from Larry Silverstein's firm in 2019 as part of a $664M debt package to build the 93-story, 1,066-foot tower in Downtown Brooklyn. JDS has defaulted on the loan, according to the foreclosure notice, first reported by ten31 on the social media platform X, triggering the foreclosure auction, scheduled for June 10.

PENNSYLVANIA
Wilkes-Barre hotel developer behind again on taxes

citizensvoice.com

A review of Luzerne County Tax Claim Bureau records for Sphere International show that the company owes more than $80,000 in combined real estate taxes, interest and fees for 2022 and 2023 to the city, county and Wilkes-Barre Area School District.