NATIONAL
How distress in office real estate could ripple out into the markets
AXIOS
Office vacancies — plus the still simmering banking crisis — have us considering what a potential bust in the $6 trillion U.S. office property market might mean. Why it matters: A deep downturn in property values is more than a problem for oligarchs, feuding billionaire clans and oil-rich foreign wealth funds. It could touch normies, too, by hurting pension fund performance and city tax revenues.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas Law Modifies Tax Assessment of Self-Storage Properties
Inside Self Storage
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed House Bill 1475 (HB 1475) into law on March 23, which prohibits assessors from including intangible property in determining taxable value. The bill was supported by the Arkansas Self Storage Association and the national Self Storage Association (SSA), according to a March 27 email newsletter to SSA members.
CALIFORNIA
Property Tax Rate Dispute Merits California Supreme Court Review
Mondaq
In a challenge brought by centrally assessed utilities, the California Court of Appeal conceded that the higher property tax rates disproportionally burden utility company property but concluded that this disparity does not violate the California Constitution.
FLORIDA
Gov. DeSantis signs Florida workforce housing bill into law
WFLA
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Naples on Wednesday, where he signed a housing bill that was sent to his desk earlier this week. DeSantis signed Senate Bill 102, the “Live Local Act”, which will appropriate $711 million for affordable housing for state workers and creates property tax exemptions for housing developers.
INDIANA
Tallest South Bend building, Liberty Tower, to house 90 new apartments
South Bend Tribune
The final phase of restoring Liberty Tower, South Bend's tallest structure, is cleared to begin after city councilors on Monday gave unanimous preliminary approval of a tax abatement plan. Under the eight-year abatement, the city will forgo tax revenue of about $1.3 million in exchange for the tower's owner, Tower at Washington Square LLC, to invest $14.7 million and build 90 new apartments.
IOWA
Hot real estate market pushing Scott Co. assessments to 'unprecedented' highs
QC Times
Homeowners in Scott County are being mailed notice of the once-every-two-year assessment of their property value, and some are experiencing sticker shock. County and city assessors follow home sales in the local real estate market to determine property values. And sale prices over the last two years are pushing many up — way up.
KANSAS
Kansas GOP food tax plan could cause local property tax increases
CJ Online
The Senate last month passed a plan to exempt food from both state and local sales taxes, which would have cut an estimated $180 million a year from local government revenue. Officials warned that the only option for local governments wishing to maintain the same level of services would be to raise property taxes.
MICHIGAN
What a Leelanau Co. case means for property tax exemptions statewide
Interlochen Public Radio
And the ruling could affect the way other people claim exemptions on their property taxes. The case comes from Leelanau County, where Mack Stirling applied for what's called a “principal residence exemption” on his home of more than 30 years.
MINNESOTA
Where Minneapolis home valuations are rising most
AXIOS
Driving the news: The city assessor's office sent out valuations to all 131,000 property owners in March. Zoom in: Valuations are rising most in some North Minneapolis neighborhoods as well as along the eastern edge of the city, from Prospect Park down to Hiawatha, according to a presentation to City Council last week.
Minneapolis Mayor Frey backs converting office towers into housing
Axios Twin Cities
Why it matters: Downtown continues to struggle because of a loss of office workers, and Frey told Axios replacing some of them with residents will liven up the core of the city. State of play: The shift to remote and hybrid work is leading to rising vacancy rates for downtown — and suburban — buildings in the metro.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Half-Empty Office Buildings Will Likely Lead to Higher Taxes for All Property Owners
GlobeSt
A topic that doesn't come up often enough when discussing the future of office is property taxes. Because the money that comes into local and county governments is significant. But what will happen when office buildings' valuations decline because of the shifting patterns of demand?
NEW MEXICO
County Assessor George Chandler: Property Tax Lightning
Los Alamos Reporter
Los Alamos property owners by now will have received their 2023 Notices of Valuation (NOV) from the Office of the Los Alamos County Assessor. Most will see relatively little change in their taxable value from last year, but for some there may be a big surprise. Imagine yourself in a home you recently purchased.
NEW YORK
Madison Square Garden Wins Competition for Biggest Sports Tax Break
The City
With their lucrative tax breaks under fire, officials at Madison Square Garden have defended the decades-old gift by saying it's no different than the public subsidies New York doles out to other city stadiums and arenas.
NORTH DAKOTA
Port: I'm not convinced our Legislature knows what the term "property tax relief" means
Inforum
"Property tax relief." North Dakota's politicians keep using that term. As the great Inigo Montoya might say , "I don't think it means what they think it means." To catch you up, according to the Legislative Council, over the last 15 years, North Dakota's lawmakers have appropriated more than $7.25 billion to what they describe as "property tax relief."
NORTH CAROLINA
More than 1,000 Rutherford County homeowners challenge property reappraisals
WLOS
Homeowners in Rutherford County are sounding off on new property tax estimates that raise values by as much as 46 percent. The new estimates are part of the reappraisal that's required every four years. Rex Ogle said his 2023 appraisal shows his home value increased by $70,000.
PENNSYLVANIA
Gainey challenges UPMC, Pitt property tax exemptions
The Pitt News
“I issued an Executive Order on January 24th, and already the Law and Finance departments have identified properties that are not paying their fair share,” Gainey said in a press release. “The next step is for the Office of Property Assessments to review our challenges and make a determination. We hope they will move expeditiously to make them pay.”
New property value assessments mailed to Beaver County residents leaving some with sticker shock
WPXI
In some cases, values are several times higher than they were when the last assessment was done, back in 1982. “Some of the properties I have are up in the two and three hundred thousand, and if I went to sell them, I could never get that for them,” Pete Sudak said. He owns properties in Aliquippa and Center Township.
RHODE ISLAND
Property values up sharply in North Providence
valleybreeze.com
The rise in values, similar to what's being seen in many other communities, does not mean that all taxpayers will be paying more on their annual bills, as the tax rate, currently at $22.81 for single-family homes, will need to be “equalized” downward to account for the overall increase in values, in keeping with state law.
TEXAS
Harrison County OKs Eastman tax abatement to lure in proposed $850 million investment
marshallnewsmessenger.com
The Harrison County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a property tax abatement agreement between Harrison County and Eastman Circular Ventures LLC Tuesday to further increase the county's chances of bringing the company's polyester plastic recycling technology here and add 204 new jobs.
Texas Senate approves $16.5 billion for property tax cuts
The Texas Tribune
Texas senators on Wednesday unanimously approved Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's agenda on property tax cuts this legislative session, which would pump billions of state dollars into public schools and give bigger tax breaks for homeowners and business owners. “This is off-the-charts, incredible property tax relief for millions of Texas homeowners,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican and Patrick's point person on property taxes.
Dallas Leads Nation in Most Undeveloped Land
The Real Deal
Despite the slew of new developments in the Dallas area, there's still room for more. Yardi Systems found that Dallas leads the nation in most vacant land available for future projects with 90,739 acres across more than 30,000 parcels, the Dallas Morning News reported. That's an average of 2.72 acres per parcel.