All Entries Tagged With: "san bernardino county"
San Bernardino County Assessor Report Card
San Bernardino County
No one needs to see another chart like the one on the right. Many (commercial property owners) will say this is not representative of the commercial property market relative to property tax assessment in San Bernardino County. We must disagree.
As home sales rose as they did for the years preceding 2007 so did the demand for related commodities. Furniture, towels, landscaping, dishes and a whole host of other items were in demand during these years. Developers scurried to keep up with the demand to satisfy the consumer. The consumer had money from the rapidly appreciating prices. Then came the fall.
Now the consumer has no money. Houses are not selling and the commercial property market is overbuilt and highly leveraged. This is a fact. The wise among us are cutting costs wherever they can. It is also a fact that one of the highest expenses in real estate ownership is county property tax. The Associates can cut your property taxes-or you don’t pay! But first, let’s look at the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office.
By law, the California State Board of Equalization audits each county assessor to determine compliance with property tax law. Overall, the counties do a good job but not without deficiencies. This is where we can help. Look at the excerpts of the last audit report:
San Bernardino County Assessment Practices Survey
The assessment practices survey program is one of the State’s major efforts to address these
interests and to promote uniformity, fairness, equity, and integrity in the property tax assessment
process. Under this program, the State Board of Equalization (BOE) periodically reviews the
practices and procedures of (surveys) every county assessor’s office. This report reflects the
BOE’s findings in its current survey of the San Bernardino County Assessor’s Office.
The assessor uses non-BOE certified staff to value property.
The assessor’s written procedures fail to conform to section 170 and San Bernardino
County disaster relief ordinance.
The assessor does not file quarterly section 69.5 reports with the BOE.
The assessor inconsistently assesses California Land Conservation Act (CLCA) properties.
The assessor fails to assess all possessory interests, and erroneously reappraises possessory
interests whenever there is only a change in the annual rent.
The assessor lacks uniform procedures for valuing historical property.
The assessor fails to create separate appraisal units for leach pads, settling ponds, and
tailing facilities as required in section 53.5. In addition, the assessor fails to determine
market value for mining
The assessor’s mandatory audit program continues to be in arrears.
The assessor uses unsupported minimum percent good factors and inappropriately uses
untrended valuation factors in the appraisal of certain high-tech property types.
The assessor continues to erroneously classify manufactured homes as real property and
does not annually enroll manufactured homes at the lesser of the factored base year value
or the current market value.
========================= End of Report================================
San Bernardino County
Home Sales San Bernardino County
Home Values vs. Commercial. San Bernardino County commercial property is being hit hard by the current real estate slump and we believe will continue this trend. The following paragraphs come from “CoStar Group, #1 Commercial Real Estate Information Company” and reflect the national market. Please note California’s prominence in the lists and specifically, San Bernardino as well:
Retail Space Availability Reaches All-Time High
The nation’s retail market posted negative quarterly net absorption for the first time, along with the highest vacancy and availability rates, since CoStar Group began tracking retail trends in 2000, according to the Bethesda, MD-based company’s first-quarter 2009 retail review and forecast.
CoStar’s research shows that the average days a retail space is listed on the market as “available for lease” has continued to rise — from 174 days in first-quarter 2006 to 370 days in first-quarter 2009…Unfortunately, CoStar is forecasting that the retail vacancy rate will continue to climb…Spivey showed that the average sale price per square foot has dropped from $235 to $125 since the recession started, while the average time a property spends on the market has increased from about 255 to 334 days.
CoStar forecasts that sometime in the next two to three years, the average retail cap rate could hit a level that is 400 basis points higher than where it was at the start of the recession. If that happens, the average cap rate would be around 11% (a high not seen since 1994), which would create better margins for buyers and should fuel transaction activity. Additionally, CoStar forecasts that the average sale price per square foot could go as low as 70% off pre-recession pricing and sales volume could end up as much as 90% off pre-recession activity, sometime in the next two to three years.
Okay, things are bad nationally but what about California? Here it is:
Spivey identified Los Angeles and Atlanta as having more excess retail inventory than any other markets…The markets with the largest first quarter increase in the average retail vacancy rate: Las Vegas (+154bps), South Bay / San Jose (+113bps), Baltimore (112bps), Inland Empire CA (+111bps), Southwest FL (+98bps), Phoenix (+94bps), Atlanta (+94bps), Sacramento (+89bps), Oklahoma City (+82bps), and Orange County CA (+82bps)…During first quarter, the markets that saw the largest net amount of retail space become vacant, as a percentage of total retail rentable building area (RBA), in order, were: South Bay / San Jose, Las Vegas, Inland Empire CA, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, San Diego, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, and Nashville.
The road ahead is a bumpy one indeed. If you want to ensure the greates possible savings on one of the largest expenses that affect your bottom line, contact us today at (909) 867-5000 or fill out the form below.
Comments or questions are welcome.
