Commercial property values in a border metropolitan economy

Abstract

Real estate property value analysis is used for municipal taxation and budgeting. Commercial properties make up a large percentage of the property tax base in many, if not most, taxing jurisdictions. Data constraints limit the number of analyses conducted on commercial property value patterns. This study employs a fairly extensive data set to address that problem in the context of El Paso, Texas, a large metropolitan economy located on the United States border with Mexico. The sample contains data for 105,611 commercial real estate parcels. Empirical analysis is conducted using geographically weighted regression analysis. Results confirm that parameter estimation for the commercial property data in this sample should be conducted using methodologies that allow for spatial autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity.