Do New York Property Owners have the tools to mount successful appeals? #RethinkThe News

Introduction

The disparity between assessed values and market values has been a theme we have remained focused on over the past year. A recent news item in The Real Deal by Elizabeth Cryan from March of this year reinforces that message, as March was the deadline for New York City landlords to file their annual assessment appeals.

Issues with the Current Assessment Methodology

At issue is the fact assessed values inexplicably rose by 3.5%, even though work patterns have changed significantly with the proliferation of remote work. Though the news item doesn’t specifically specify the methodology used by city officials to arrive at specific assessment values, it appears a blanketed approach is being employed, or at least one using income and expense data that has quickly become outdated. In this assessment period, the numbers being used are from 2022.

From the perspective of owners of trophy properties located in downtown cores, this could be perceived as welcome news, however it seems the bulk of property tax liability is being falling on the shoulders of owners of older assets. So now, as we find ourselves in appeals season (which corresponds to the appeals quadrant of the property tax lifecycle), the specific strategies employed by property owners to make their appeals is critical.

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Assessment Appeals Process and Success Rates

The article also provides insight and high-level metrics into the process of making assessment appeals. In 2023, for instance, 26,000 appeals were filed, yielding 4,500 offers (i.e., the properties were reassessed), which is an offer rate of 17.3%. This was compared with figures from 2020, when 27,000 appeals were filed, with 5,400 offers, or 20%.  

If we eyeball these figures, we might surmise there was greater market predictability and stability, so when a property owner filed an appeal, there was greater confidence in the numbers used to make that appeal – thus, a higher offer rate. As market uncertainty increased with the onset of the pandemic and changing work patterns, the acceptance rate has accordingly dropped, as the market remains in a state of flux.

This is significant, as property owners now require greater precision in the way they construct their appeals. As chaos and uncertainty prevails, as the market tries to settle into a new status quo, appeal activity needs to adjust, and be infused with new ways to compellingly convince property tax authorities that they need to adjust their perception of assessed values.

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Tools for Successful Property Tax Appeals

As property owners contemplate the optimal ways to mount their commercial property tax appeals, it becomes increasingly important they use tools that can help lay out a stronger case for appeal by using advanced analytics providing up to date information on market conditions, comparables, and year-over-year performance analysis.

This becomes particularly important for owners of large portfolios whose geographic footprints are large, which forces them to stay on top of jurisdictional variations on rules, deadlines, and financial information. By streamlining the process of commercial property tax management, particularly in the appeals phase, portfolio owners can reap the benefits of a new approach.

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itamlink: A Tool for Effective Appeals

itamlink provides property owners with an all-in-one, data-driven tool that offers the precision today’s property owners need. If you are contemplating the approach you will take to mounting your own appeals and are scrambling to manually gather a bunch of fragmented pieces, you really need to take a closer look at itamlink, a tool that can effectively aggregate critical data to boost business intelligence, thereby helping to make decisions and submit strong appeals that can reduce property tax expenses.

Don’t put this off any longer, book your demo here.