CANADA
Commercial Real Estate Woes in Canada Are Worsened by Tax Gap
Bloomberg
Commercial real estate owners, battered by higher interest rates, are grappling with another big challenge in Canada: a property tax system that's increasingly tilted against them, according to a report by Altus Group Ltd. In several of the country's largest biggest cities — including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver — commercial properties are taxed at more than three times the rate of residential ones.
NATIONAL
Real Estate 14 Worst U.S. Cities for Real Estate Taxes
Think Advisors
Real estate taxes are an ongoing cost for everyone from first-time homebuyers to retirees. The money covers municipal costs, local infrastructure and other amenities. Although homestead exemptions and local tax abatements may help homeowners with some of the cost, the amount adds up significantly over time. At the same time, the tax burden differs considerably in cities across the U.S., according to new research from SmartAsset.
Over 1,400 Municipalities Have Altered Parking Minimums In Affordable Housing Push. Has It Worked?
BisNow
With more vehicles than licensed drivers, cars have been king in new U.S. developments for decades. Large — and expensive — parking structures for tenants have become a standard at multifamily properties across the nation, while local municipalities have set minimum requirements to accommodate the 90% of U.S. households owning at least one vehicle.
Malls Aren't Going Away. Enabled By Technology, They're Becoming Modern Community Cornerstones
BisNow
Although mall traffic, sales and occupancy rates are trending up as they recover from pandemic lows, traditional shopping malls don't have the same popularity they did in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s. This is largely due to changing consumer preferences and the steep and sudden rise of online shopping.
ILLINOIS
After Taxable Property Value Rose 11%, Challenges Nearly Doubled In Winnebago County
Rock River Current
The number of home and business owners challenging what assessor's say their property is worth has nearly doubled in the past year. There were 1,252 property assessment complaints filed this year in Winnebago County, up from 665 a year ago, according to the Supervisor of Assessment's Office. That number doesn't include complaints that were already withdrawn or those where additional information is needed to comply.
INDIANA
Apartment Demand Varies by Quality in Indianapolis
CoStar News
Four- and five-star apartments have returned to leading the pack for renter demand during 2023. Net absorption, or the change in the number of occupied units, has equated to roughly 1,315 units rented by tenants at four- and five-star properties this year. This renewed tenant demand for higher-quality units is a marked turnaround from last year's tally for this subtype, when only 421 units were absorbed for the entire year.
NEW YORK
Cornerstone Downtown Trenton High-Rise Office Building to be Converted to Apartment Building
Fennelly Associates
The property is just under two miles from the Trenton Transit Center and the West Trenton Train Station with access to New York City and Philadelphia was originally constructed as a hotel in 1969. It was most recently utilized as an office building. Aiming to build upon the continued demand for new housing in downtown Trenton, Fennelly Associates worked to attract a buyer interested in the adaptive reuse of the property.
NEW JERSEY
As School Funding Runs Dry, Riverhead Residents Call to Shut Down Economic Development Org
New York Focus
THE WALLS WERE SWEATING at Riverhead High School. So were the tile floors and the teachers and the students. During an August heatwave, temperatures in the school reached the high 80s. A quarter of the classrooms don't have ac. The school placed fans in the slick hallways to dry them out. “[The students] shut down,” said Garrett Moore, 44, who has taught social studies at the school for twenty years. “They just put their heads down.”
TEXAS
Industrial Vacancy In DFW Tops 8% As Construction Pipeline Unloads And Interest Rates Chill Deals
BisNow
Dallas-Fort Worth's red-hot industrial sector is beginning to cool as massive chunks of inventory are unleashed on a market that isn't as frenzied as it once was. More than 12M SF of new space was completed in the third quarter, and another 58.4M SF is on the horizon, once again putting DFW in the No. 1 spot for the largest construction pipeline in the nation.
'We like to develop in Texas': Why the Lone Star State keeps building offices that remain vacant
Business Insider
Americans think Texas is the place to be. From its popular metros to remote locations, the Lone Star State is experiencing fast growth. It has five of the 10 fastest growing counties in the US, and is a popular relocation spot from California. Texas is a developer's dream — about one in six new-construction buyers purchases a home in Texas.
The Californization of the Texas Housing Market
WSJ
Texas has long had a reputation as an affordable place to live, in large part because homeownership stayed within reach for the middle class. Migration from more expensive states has pushed home prices out of reach for many locals; "a very hard market for first-time buyers".
Developer of parking-free downtown apartments surrenders building to lender
Austin Monitor
A parking-free, 30-unit apartment building that gained attention as one of the first attempts to bring “missing middle” housing downtown has been turned over to its lender after failing to generate enough occupancy to operate successfully.
WASHINGTON
Benton, Franklin property valuation rates jump more than 20%
TriCities Business
Scott Thompson had never felt strongly enough about an issue to display a banner criticizing elected leaders – until he got his property valuation from the Benton County Assessor's office. That's when he put up the large sign on his wooden fence facing the well-traveled Keene Road in West Richland: “Ignorant voters + Incompetent assessors = Oppressive taxation.”