The economy is roaring back if the October stock market has anything to say about it. Just two short months ago the economy was slowing, Europe was (and is) on the ropes, and we were just a shock away from recession. Now everyone seems to be convinced that we are (my Halloween analogy) whistling past the graveyard.
Consumer confidence is still residing in the basement however, and the number of pending home sales has been trending downward for the last three months. The savings rate has been trending down for three months also, and this has been somewhat evident in retail sales figures. Apparently the draw-down of savings has not gone toward house purchases.
Although the holiday season should give a boost to retailers and their landlords the retail real estate sector faces serious headwinds. According to CoStar, vacancy rates declined for the general retail, shopping center and specialty center property types. The vacancy rate rose for malls and power centers. The total retail vacancy rate dropped 10 basis points from 7.2 percent to 7.1%. The drop in vacancy for some property types appears to come at the expense of rental rates. The rental rates for all property types fell in the third quarter.
If you are a retail property owner or manager and you haven't obtained significant property tax savings in the past two years you have come to the right place. Here at Fair Assessments LLC we have been saving our clients an average of 21% on their 2011 property tax assessments. We are gearing up for the 2012 property tax appeal season. If you would like assistance in your commercial property tax appeal contact us now at Fair Assessments.
