2011 Georgia Property Tax Appeals: Office

Posted by Daniel Jones on Mar 3, 2011 5:08:00 PM
Suburban office owners! Rents are not rising and vacancy rates are not falling. Sales are less than replacement cost in most cases. Capitalization rates have dropped slightly but this is no time to sit on your hands. Appeal your tax assessment.

In a recent survey just as many national investors called office building property a "buy" as those calling office a "hold" (44% each). This probably has a lot to do with the dichotomy of suburban office product versus central business district (CBD) office product. The difference between the two locations is a departure from previous recoveries, however. In the past, due to the desire for lower rents and shorter commutes the suburban office properties typically lead the office market coming out of recession.

Due to the large amount of vacant suburban office space at this time (70%) of total, suburban property is lagging CBD property this time around. With job creation continuing on a sluggish pace suburban office vacancies are stable to increasing, even as CBD properties are experiencing lower vacancy rates. Rents that were cut during the great recession don't stand much of a chance of rising in the suburbs until the job picture turns around and all that vacant space is absorbed.

National CBD office market overall capitalization rates declined during the most recent quarter over quarter comparisons (per PWC/Korpacz) to 7.53%. National suburban cap rates also declined to 8.17%. Atlanta office market cap rates declined slightly to 8.84% from 8.95% the previous quarter and 9.03% a year ago. Office leasing activity was up 27.5% over the first three quarters of 2010 versus the same period in 2009. Free rent is prevalent however, with up to 20 months free on a ten year lease. The outlook for rent levels remains negative for the near term.

The Atlanta office market vacancy rate was averaging approximately 10% in the fourth quarter. Tenant retention is averaging approximately 63% just slightly below the year ago 65%. Rents are flat to declining -0.25% while operating expenses are rising approximately 2.32%. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the delinquency rate on commercial mortgage backed securities reached a record 9.39% in February and one of the largest jumps was office CMBS delinquencies which rose to 7.1% from 6.88%.

Leading, downtown, trophy office buildings are the only office properties selling for premium prices and suburban office is lagging. Continued pressure on rents coupled with high vacancy rates will continue to adversely affect pricing. Overall Atlanta office properties are selling for 50% to 100% of replacement cost with an average price of 80% of replacement cost. 2011 is a good time to appeal your property tax assessment.
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