Texas Market Reports

By Lee Winston, partner at Gray, Winston & Hart PLLC No income tax in Texas. The Texas Constitution prohibits it, so local funding depends primarily on property taxes.  But to many Texas businesses, this “necessary evil” has become just plain evil. Over the last several years, property taxes in Texas have exploded.  State politicians have taken notice and are ramping up demands to reduce or eliminate property taxes, but the alternatives are more than unpopular. For instance, nobody wants to pay — and no politician wants to stand for election on — instituting a near 20 percent sales tax. And everyone knows this.  To avoid this reality, lawmakers have pivoted to find a villain, and the appraisal districts that place the taxable value on property are a ready target.  The popular solutions to rein in this villain are appraisal caps, increased exemptions and value limitations, all of which offer relief to residential property owners but do little for commercial owners. And these “fixes” result in a system that is neither equal nor uniform, undermining the constitutional foundation of taxation in Texas. Our elected officials have yet to address the fundamental issue driving the over-valuation of most commercial properties, which is …

Interviews by Jessica Johnson and Abby Lestin Big deal, little deal or no deal? In a hypothetical survey among several dozen women who work in commercial real estate that examines the significance of their growing segment of industry leadership, answers would likely run the gamut of those three options.  The answer is subjective, of course. But regardless of individual sentiments, there can be no denying that commercial real estate does currently have a strong cast of experienced, capable women in leadership positions, and there is little reason to think that trend will slow or backtrack in the future.  At France Media, the Atlanta-based parent company of Texas Real Estate Business, we see this pattern manifest in multiple forms. Our conference division, InterFace Conference Group, hosts dozens of industry events every year with panel discussions that routinely feature women in prominent speaking roles. We see more announcements about advocacy groups within the industry that are largely devoted to women and their occupational advancement and achievements, as well as launches of companies owned and led by women. And we count a growing contingent of women among our regular editorial sources and contributors. This isn’t just some initiative driven by diversity, equity and …

By Taylor Williams Earlier this year, data from the U.S. Census Bureau emerged stating that San Antonio had added 22,000 new residents between July 2022 and 2023, making it the nation’s fastest-growing city during that time. That figure exceeded the 18,900 new residents added between July 2021 and 2022 and brought the Alamo City’s total head count to about 1.5 million people, making it the seventh-largest U.S. city by population. With such growth comes pressure from both the anchor city and its surrounding municipalities to deliver solid employment, housing and recreation options for residents. City officials and leaders can make good on that charge by a variety of means and mechanisms, and rarely does one city or submarket’s blueprint for accommodating growth match that of another. As such, the suburbs surrounding the San Antonio area are increasingly standing on their own as unique communities that are more than capable of attracting quality housing development, national retail and restaurant users and new employment opportunities.  In this story, we take a closer look at specific projects and initiatives that are helping some of these municipalities effectively and efficiently ride the wave of regional growth.  Seguin: Revitalization 101 Located off I-10 on San …