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— Property Management Quarterly — July 2016
Colliers International | Denver Property Management team has
a proven track record of adding value to commercial real estate
assets. Our approach to property management is unique to our
industry. We have identified the subtle drivers that enable us to
manage property at a higher standard and maximize asset value.
BRAD CALBERT
303 283 4566
4643 South Ulster Street
|
Suite 1000
|
Denver, CO 80237
|
303 745 5800
|
303 745 5888 fax
INDUSTRIAL
|
FLEX
|
RETAIL
|
OFFICE
|
MEDICAL
A step above the rest.
BOB MILLER
303 283 4577
A
ll you have to do is look at
the cranes dotting the sky-
line from Boulder to the
Denver Tech Center to see
that Denver has a thriving
real estate market. Real estate trans-
actions are plentiful and prices have
reached record highs in the last few
years. Office space vacancy rates
have stabilized, rental rates have
increased and capitalization rates
have stabilized. All of which are nec-
essary for a thriving real estate mar-
ket. With all of the positives in the
real estate market, there are down-
sides to owners and building tenants
– property taxes have risen.
Property taxes are a function of
market value and the mill levy. In
Colorado, all properties are reap-
praised every two years on Jan. 1
of the odd year. Since the Great
Recession, starting in 2013, average
property values have increased. The
largest increase was in 2015 when
assessors had more transactions to
review than they’d had in the past
to set market values for the 2015
reappraisal. Additionally, sale prices
pointed to increased property val-
ues.
The mill levy is the second fac-
tor in determining property taxes.
The mill levy is made up of city and
county services such as the general
fund, bond repayment, social ser-
vices, police and fire, and capital
maintenance. These services make
up a little less than half of the mill
levy and the school districts make
up the remainder of the levy. Some
properties are located in special
districts that have
additional mills for
operations, bond
interest and repay-
ment.
Legislative
Tax Policies
There are sev-
eral legislative
tax policies that
impact the mill
levy. First is the
Taxpayer Bill of
Rights, also known
as the TABOR
amendment, that says state and
local governments cannot raise tax
rates without voter approval and
cannot spend revenues collected
under existing tax rates if revenues
grow faster than the rate of popula-
tion growth and inflation, without
voter approval. Revenues in excess
of TABOR limits are refunded to
taxpayers unless taxpayers vote
to allow governments to keep the
surplus. Through 2012, 85 percent
of Colorado’s local jurisdictions had
received voter approval to remove
some or all of the revenue limits set
by TABOR.
Second is Tax Measure 2A, passed
in the city and county of Denver
in 2012. The measure permanently
removed TABOR restrictions on the
city’s tax base and eliminated four
credited mills with 2.22 credited
mills still in place. It implemented
an antispiking provision that pro-
Taxes
Jodi Sullivan,
MAI, CCIM
Director, property
tax, Duff & Phelps
LLC, Denver
Data collected from Costar, Denver County Assessor Records, Arapahoe County Assessor
Records, Douglas County Assessor Records and Broomfield County Assessor Records.
