Lone Star State Taxes Expected to Fluctuate
NorthPark Center in Dallas remains the top tax-paying property in Texas, and even with the 2% tax increase it received since last year, it dropped two positions to 75th nationally, according to a recent study.
DALLAS—With the 2018 tax filing season a fading memory, CommercialCafe’s top 100 US property taxes study follows up on last year’s top 100 round-up to discover if any year-over-year differences surfaced or new properties made the cut for the top spots. The study once again turned to public record sources to identify properties that tipped the scale.
At first glance, the list does not look all that different. The 100 top tax-paying properties in 2017 are scattered across the same nine states, and not much has changed with respect to the overwhelming New York presence in the mix—78 of the top 100 US taxes are for properties located in New York state.
Those properties generated $2.2 billion in property tax revenue, accounting for 82% of the total contributed by all 100. The mix of property types should also be no surprise by now—the list features mostly office properties, sprinkled with mixed-use, retail, hotel, entertainment and residential properties. The 15% tax increase experienced by the Roosevelt Field Mall in New York was enough to make it the highest-billed retail property in the country.
Other key highlights from the study showed that NorthPark Center in Dallas remains the top tax-paying property in Texas, and even with the 2% tax increase it received since last year, it dropped two positions, from 73rd to 75th nationally, and is now 15th outside New York.
“Though a landmark for North Texas, it is considerably less known compared to some of the Manhattan high rises it outperformed tax-wise. It’s also the fifth highest-billed retail property in the US,” Adel Dobriban, communications specialist with Yardi Matrix, tells GlobeSt.com.
The Four Oaks Place office complex in Houston also made the cut, and is the 27th highest-billed property outside of New York.
“Strictly in terms of property taxes, even though Texas cities have relied on them as a significant revenue source, statewide real estate values differ from those in the rest of the country,” Dobriban tells GlobeSt.com. “Assessment of commercial properties at a lower market value will yield a proportionally smaller tax contribution. Therefore, future hikes in commercial property taxes in Texas may not be so high as to make the top 100, at least for now.”
Dobriban says property taxes in the Lone Star State are expected to fluctuate with the enactment of the new tax bill, while its effects on commercial real estate remain to be seen in 2018. And indeed, major changes in the property tax landscape may come about in next year’s analysis, as the 2018 tax reform will likely make waves among the Top 100 next year.