Lessons for NY Office Owners: Case Study from Boston Commercial and office building owners in New York State should be aware of the potential impact of Boston’s office real estate downturn on their property values, and subsequently their property taxes. Boston’s experience, outlined in this post, highlights similar vulnerabilities faced by urban centers like those throughout NY State, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to protect investments. As economic conditions shift, property values will fluctuate, in turn affecting property tax assessments. In such times, office building owner ..read more

Property Tax Insights on Retail Real Estate Trends In this ever-changing retail real estate market, property owners find themselves at the forefront of seismic shifts, shaped by evolving consumer behaviors and constant innovation. This blog provides expert insight on the current trends influencing the retail landscape, their implications on commercial property valuations, and how property owners can effectively navigate this dynamic terrain. The picture for suburban retail might appear favorable at the moment, with retail vacancy holding steady at 4.2%, the lowest vacancy rate among all comm ..read more

Free-Falling Office Values: A Catalyst for Property Tax Challenges Certain segments of the U.S. commercial real estate market are facing significant difficulties in recovering from the pandemic, especially office buildings. The news is awash with reports of large office landlords defaulting on loans. Many highly leveraged owners expect significant challenges ahead.   Almost all NY commercial property owners will challenge their assessment, but it’s not as simple as completing a form. The velocity of changes in the office market is unprecedented in recent decades. Given this ra ..read more

What Hotel Owners Need to Know About Appealing Their Property Taxes in NY The hotel industry has been through a tough few years since the start of the pandemic. After 2020 broke records as the worst year ever for the hotel industry according to STR, 2021 brought gains, but they were varied. The recovery pace in spring and summer of 2021 was strong, but demand fell in the fall and winter with the emergence of new variants. Luxury travel primarily drove demand in 2021, while business and convention travel only showed modest gains. Extended-stay hotels saw increases, but major ur ..read more

Navigating Property Taxes in a Shifting Office and Retail Landscape The combined rise of the gig economy with the shift to remote work during the pandemic has had a serious impact on the office market. Businesses require office space that can adapt to quickly changing needs, which has led to increased demand for co-working spaces, short-term leases, and other flexible office solutions. At the same time, companies looking to lure workers back to the office want buildings that offer amenities such as fitness centers, cafes, and green spaces. To remain state-of-the-art in the current market, of ..read more

What Commercial Property Owners Need to Know About the Use of AI in Property Tax New technology is constantly being introduced into the market, more rapidly than ever. How do you know which of these trends are worth paying attention to, which may disrupt the established way of doing things, and which will fade away? At RTC we make it our mission to stay on top of the latest trends to help commercial property owners understand how these innovations impact the property tax process, from assessments to tax bills. Let’s take a look at artificial intelligence, big data, and the use of the latest ..read more

What to know about property taxes for commercial adaptive reuse projects Reuse / recycle is a great mantra when it comes to sustainability. These principles are central to the commercial real estate practice of redeveloping aging buildings, also known as adaptive reuse. This practice is especially popular in the industrial sector.  Retrofitting an older commercial building makes sense for many reasons. It can cost less than demolishing an existing structure and constructing a new building. Upcycling materials is environmentally friendly and reduces the cost and resources needed to purch ..read more

New York’s Section 485-b Offers Commercial Property Owners Important Tax Exemption Benefits
 Commercial real estate owners have a strategic advantage when they improve their properties. It only makes sense to take care of your investment and keep up with real estate trends and tenants’ needs. The downside to these improvements is that they can increase the assessed value, and therefore the property tax bill. In New York State there is a special program set up to address this issue. Section 485-b of the New York State Real Property Tax Law is an excellent asset to commercial real estate prope ..read more

Office Market Woes – What It Takes To Fill Space and How You Can Use The Downturn to Your Advantage There has been so much focus in the news on the ups and downs of the office market since the start of the pandemic. When workers began to work from home en masse, it caused a monumental shift in the office sector overnight.  The office sector has showed some signs of recovery, but what is not often discussed are the means that urban landlords are having to go to keep their vacancy rates low. Landlords have historically sweetened deals in different ways, depending on their current needs an ..read more

10 Reasons to Appeal Your Commercial Property Tax Assessment  Appealing your commercial property tax assessment is one of the best business decisions you can make to lower your operating costs. Property taxes can account for up to 35% of your commercial building’s operating costs in New York. There are so many important reasons to appeal your property tax assessment. Here are our 10 top reasons to grieve your taxes and how to appeal. #1 Your taxing municipality does not have all the information they need to properly assess the real value of your commercial property. There are hundreds o ..read more