NATIONAL
Office buildings could meet the same fate as shopping malls

CNN

It's been about four years since the Covid-19 pandemic first upended society. Cities and towns have mostly sprung back to life, but one aspect of daily life is unmistakable: The once-ubiquitous reality of working in an office for eight hours a day, five days a week is dead. As many companies embrace remote and hybrid work, demand for office space has weakened and property values have fallen. 

Population declining in flood-prone neighborhoods due to climate, study finds

Houston Chronicle

Neighborhoods subject to regular flooding are losing population due to climate change. Looking at population data over 20 years across individual census blocks, scientists found that neighborhoods with higher frequency of flooding were growing between 2% and 7% slower than other areas. That resulted in a nationwide population loss of 3.2 million for more flood-prone neighborhoods over two decades. 

Lennar Puts 11,000-Unit Multifamily Portfolio Up For Sale

BisNow

One of the largest homebuilders in the country has put a massive multifamily portfolio up for sale despite lackluster investment volume this year. Miami-based Lennar is looking to sell more than 11,000 apartments that could earn approximately $4.5B. The multifamily giant is working with JLL to market the properties. The properties operate through Quarterra, a luxury multifamily development subsidiary of the company. It is open to breaking the portfolio into smaller components, according to Bloomberg Law.

CALIFORNIA
Downtown slump prompts property owners to appeal for lower taxes

San Francisco Examiner

With record vacancies in San Francisco office buildings and home prices down, the number of property owners appealing to lower their property taxes has skyrocketed to the highest level since at least the Great Recession year of 2009. The number of appeals challenging city property assessments — the dollar amount a city says a property is worth and the basis for calculating taxes owed — shot up more than two and half times in the recent initial filing period for fiscal 2023-2024 compared to all of last year.

COLORADO
State board blocks Douglas County’s creative attempt to provide property tax relief to its homeowners

Colorado Sun

A state panel Monday unanimously blocked a creative attempt by elected officials in conservative Douglas County to offer a $28 million property tax break to homeowners by making an across-the-board reduction in previously determined home values. The State Board of Equalization, which is controlled by Democrats, voted 5-0 after hours of testimony and debate to reverse the decision by the Douglas County Commission to reduce the county's valuations of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums by 4%.

ILLINOIS
Altamont school board approves 10% increase in tax levy

effinghamdailynews.com

The Altamont school board this week voted unanimously to approve a 10% increase in the district's 2023 tax levy over the previous year. The district's decision to levy for a total of $4,663,524 is based on an estimated increase in the district's equalized assessed valuation (EAV) of about 9% from the previous year's EAV, which was $105,672,834. The levy increase is higher than the approximately 6% increases the district requested in 2021 and 2022.

MISSOURI
Jackson County broke law by improperly raising home valuations, Missouri auditor claims

The Kansas City Star

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick on Monday alleged Jackson County used a “flawed and inadequate” property assessment process that violated state law, affecting up to 200,000 homeowners. Fitzpatrick said the problems should invalidate any increase in assessed valuation greater than 15%. He urged homeowners whose valuation rose by more to only pay their property taxes under protest – a process that allows owners to file a lawsuit if they don't receive the refund they believe they're owed.

PENNSYLVANIA
Daycare center asks court for property tax exemption, taxing bodies opposed

Lebtown

In 2021, after years operating a child daycare facility in rented spaces, Cornwall Children's Center bought its own building. Last week it asked a local court to declare the property exempt from township, school district, and county real estate taxes because it is a charitable organization. CCC purchased the building, located in South Lebanon Township's Lebanon Valley Business Park, for $745,000.

TEXAS
Local Appraisal District Acknowledges Data Vulnerability

Dallas Express

“Significant vulnerabilities” were discovered in the Tarrant Appraisal District's computer network after a third-party information technology company reassessed the system over the last month. In a press release, Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) chair Tony Pompa said that the agency had re-engaged with the firm Apollo Information Systems after “new information” had surfaced. 

$5B In New Development Headed For Land Around Downtown Dallas' Reunion Tower

BisNow

Hunt Realty Investments is redoubling its commitment to Downtown Dallas with a $5B redevelopment plan for its more than 20-acre property around Reunion Tower. The firm will build a dozen new high-rises encompassing 5M SF, The Dallas Morning News reports. The project could include as many as 3,000 apartments, a convention hotel with up to 1,000 rooms, 150K SF of retail and up to 2M SF of offices surrounding a 3-to-4-acre park.

What Affordable Housing in Dallas Can I Get at National Average Rent?

Dallas Observer

Many Dallas residents are feeling the pinch in terms of housing. The rent is too damn high, and the square footage is too damn low. Folks living close to the city's urban center can generally expect to see less bang for their buck, sad to say. RentCafe breaks down what a Dallas renter can get with $1,700, around the national average rent. RentCafe examined 75 Dallas ZIP codes and found that 46 of them provide more space for $1,700 when compared with the national average of roughly 950 square feet.