Should Real Estate Prices Be Public Information?

In today’s Real Estate section, I look into plans by the city of Dallas to lobby the state legislature to require the public disclosure of real estate transactions.

This would have a huge impact on how DCAD appraisals would work for both commercial and residential properties. While appraisals on homes, particularly those on the high-end of the spectrum, would likely increase, the same would happen with commercial properties, which currently are even more undervalued on the tax rolls than most homes.

In theory, higher valuations means taxing entities could lower their tax rates, something the HP Council couldn’t do this year, and UP Council could only barely muster.