Blog

The USC Lusk Center’s Richard Green blogs about the retail sector’s performance: positive trends, areas for concern and what to watch.

The value of property is influenced by demographic fluctuations. Thus, when property owners receive their tax assessment each year, it is essential that they and their tax professionals carefully examine demographic changes in the markets where their properties are located. Estimated demographics are available at any time, but the end of a census provides a unique opportunity to mine for demographic gold. What’s Important about Demographics? A high-end shopping mall in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with a decreasing population is a prime candidate for a valuation reduction. The property owner’s ability to sustain sales is declining along with the…

With a growing number of high-profile Web sites such as those belonging to Sony, Citibank and even the CIA becoming victims to hacker attacks, there has never been a better time to re-evaluate the passwords you use for your online accounts.

The GSEs have continued to perform profitably the core business of providing long-term fixed-rate mortgage capital to the apartment market. But it wasn’t the corporate structure that created this excellent, well-operated business line within Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, it was the people who were there every day. And through the inaction and missteps–and in some cases careless negligence–of regulators and politicians, the multi-family businesses of the GSEs are on a path that, if not corrected soon, will lead to their effective demise.

In states recognized for their fair property tax systems, five characteristics account for their being called fair. 1. The tax appraisal process is separate from tax levy and collection. Giving an appraisal district sole responsibility for assessing tax values removes valuation from political influence. It also promotes transparency, because a single value is established on a property for use by all taxing units. 2. All properties are treated the same and all values are set by an easily understood standard. The valuation of property based on 100 percent of market value each year accomplishes both of these goals. It is…

Shekar Narasimhan offers his thoughts on how the GSEs benefit the rental housing market, whether privatization is a viable alternative and the risks of not finding a solution quickly. Click on the link for his thoughts. And then weigh in with your own thoughts!

Commercial Property Executive asked CREOpoint to share some of the CREObuzz ™ highlights regarding the industry’s reaction to CoStar acquisition of LoopNet. Despite the clear fit between Research and Marketing, the sentiment was mixed. There was agreement that the combined company would be a “strong” (569 online mentions) “giant” “winner”. Although both CEOs Andrew Florance and Richard Doyle pushed upbeat messages about innovation, cost reduction and cross selling, most of the buzz ended up being about the “I own the market” culture of CoStar and likely price increases.

The USC Lusk Center’s Richard Green blogs about how the property sectors are performing.

Appraisers can choose from three approaches to determine what a buyer would pay for a commercial property. But which approach is the most appropriate method of valuation?  The cost approach assumes that buyers will pay no more for a property than it would cost them to build an equal substitute. The appraiser calculates the cost to build the property and subtracts physical, economic, and functional depreciation.  Appraisers prefer this approach for newer properties that lack an operating history. The cost approach is also preferred for unique or specialty properties because no comparable properties may exist.  The income approach assumes that…