2009 Commercial Values Head Into Muddy Water

DALLAS-In a world of economic uncertainty, commercial property values are heading into muddy waters. Whether values plummet or stay flat in North Texas remains to be seen, but it’s a surefire certainty that the steady increase in years of late has come to an abrupt halt.

Dallas County, which has about 100,000 property tax protests annually, has a commercial base of $83.5 billion. Tarrant County, with roughly 70,000 protests annually, has $31.8 billion of commercial 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 the national situation, but does have the potential to impact appraised values and tax collections on a temporary basis.” The founder of Waco, TX-based Perryman Group adds that “it shouldn’t last long,” given the relatively strong multifamily and commercial markets.