Dallas County, which has about 100,000 property tax protestsannually, has a commercial base of $83.5 billion. Tarrant County,with roughly 70,000 protests annually, has $31.8 billion ofcommercial properties, excluding commercial land.

"Because of the lag in the appraisal and assessment process,there will be some delay in the effects," says Dr. Ray Perryman,one of the state's leading economists. "It is nothing like thenational situation, but does have the potential to impact appraisedvalues and tax collections on a temporary basis." The founder ofWaco, TX-based Perryman Group adds that "it shouldn't last long,"given the relatively strong multifamily and commercial markets.

Because there are so few sales these days, experts are having adifficult time measuring or even projecting the impact. Accordingto CB Richard Ellis, office sales are averaging $168 per squarefoot; industrial, $57 per square foot; and retail, $133 per squarefoot. The multifamily market's average is $57,400 per unit in theregion.

Fort Worth

Loughry believes it will be the biggest setback since the 1980s."It's relative to where I see the softness in the market. Retail isthe area that has the most vulnerability in the market," he says."We have not seen the other shoe drop yet."