NATIONAL

Universities Gobbling Up Office Buildings In A Bid To Expand Footprints At A Discount
BisNow
Dozens of schools are picking up vacant office buildings, making the most of the sector's pain by increasing the size of their campuses and real estate portfolios at a low price. The group of schools snagging properties since 2018 includes 49 four-year private institutions and 16 four-year public universities, according to The New York Times. The acquired buildings often need renovations, but these improvements are typically less expensive and time-consuming than constructing new buildings from scratch, per the NYT.


CALIFORNIA

California home construction so low it will take 34 years to meet current demand
thecentersquare.com
A new report from California YIMBY has found California must build 3.5 million homes by 2025 to address its housing shortage, and that governor Gavin Newsom's housing production efforts have failed to sufficiently increase housing production, which in 2022 was just 116,000 new units of housing. “This shortage has resulted in rising rents and prices, closed access to homeownership for many families, and forced many Californians to leave the state altogether,” the report said.


FLORIDA

Vacation rental can lose homestead exemption on property
Florida Today
Even if a property owner uses a home as a vacation rental, it doesn't necessarily change how the property is assessed for taxing purposes. Brevard County Property Appraiser Dana Blickley said a residence of less than four units generally is assessed based on a combination of what it would cost to rebuild the property and the selling prices of similar properties in the neighborhood — as long as there is a trend established related to the property sales.


ILLINOIS

How Loop Office Struggles Will Hit Chicago Homeowners
The Real Deal
Chicago homeowners might be blaming the vacancy-plagued downtown office market for their next big jump in property taxes. As the value of downtown office buildings continues to plunge, homeowners may bear a larger share of the tax burden, Crain's reported, citing a study by the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation and the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago.


MONTANA

Commissioners vote to cut property taxes in face of potential lawsuit from state
MT Standard
Facing potential lawsuits by either the state or the taxpayers, Butte-Silver Bow commissioners would rather be sued by the state and administration of Gov. Greg Gianforte. That was the majority sentiment Wednesday night when commissioners voted 8-2 to cut property taxes levied locally on behalf of the state. “I'd rather be sued by the state than the taxpayers because I work for the taxpayers,” said Commissioner Jim Fisher.