NATIONAL

A Mall Owner's About-Face: Bet on America's High-End Malls
WSJ
The European owner of Westfield malls is pulling back from its aggressive plan to sell nearly all its properties and exit from the U.S. market this year, another vote of confidence for the high-end mall business. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield said last year that it planned to shed most of its American portfolio by the end of 2023. Now, the Paris-based company intends to hold some of its top-performing malls beyond that self-imposed deadline.

Yardi, 18 Real Estate Firms Accused Of Rent Fixing In Class-Action Lawsuit
BisNow
Yardi Systems and 18 property management companies were named in a federal class-action lawsuit accusing them of engaging in a scheme to fix apartment rents across the country. Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman alleged in the suit that Yardi and the property management firms used Yardi's RENTmaximizer tool to eliminate competition by automating rent increases. 


MASSACHUSETTS

After controversy over residential tax exemption plan, Williamstown select board stays with single property tax rate
WAMC
The vote took place during a public classification hearing Monday on how Williamstown, with its median household income of over $95,000, would distribute its tax levy among taxable property owners. The proposal by select board member Stephanie Boyd to adopt the commonwealth's residential tax exemption would end the town's history of applying a single, flat tax rate across all property owners.


MISSOURI

Jackson County tax assessor answers questions regarding troubled assessment
KCTV5
A very tense meeting took place on Monday between legislators and the Jackson County tax assessor over the troubled assessment. Gail McCann Beatty tried to explain an error revealed to the public by KCTV5 Investigates, eventually conceding to legislators that it was her fault. We revealed that more than 500 homes across the county were given the same value, $356,270.