D.C. Property Values Continue To Soar, Generating Tax Revenue Windfall

Property values in D.C. continue to reach new heights, generating a windfall for District coffers, the city’s latest financial data show.

The results of D.C.’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal 2019 paint a rosy picture of the city’s economic health, including a roughly $11 billion jump in total property values compared with a year ago. Commercial properties saw a more than $3.3 billion appreciation, with a total value of more than $94.4 billion, while residential holdings saw a roughly $5.4 billion increase to more than $125.6 billion.

The biggest single beneficiary looks to be Midtown Center, owned by Carr Properties’ affiliate 1100 15th Street LLC, which saw a more than $110 million increase in value from a year ago, up to $586.1 million. That makes it the fifth most valuable property in the city, up from eighth overall a year ago, largely thanks to Fannie Mae’s new presence there.

And all that change has juiced tax revenue for the District — the D.C. government collected more than $2.87 billion in real, personal and rental property taxes in 2019, a roughly $166 million increase from a year ago. That includes a $146.2 million increase in real property tax revenues, the biggest increase the District has seen since 2016, even before a planned tax hike on commercial property owners went into effect for the new fiscal year. Income tax collections shot up by more than $300 million to roughly $2.94 billion.

Click here to read the rest of the article written by Alex Koma over at the Washington Business Journal