Houston’s recent progressive trend of rapidly increasing property values is moderating as the region’s economy has cooled, according to Deal Sikes & Associates, a leading Houston-based valuation firm.

The taxable value of all property in Harris County increased 7.6% over the last year, according to the new 2016 certified appraisal roll compiled by the Harris County Appraisal District. Last year, the appraisal district reported a much higher 12.1% annual increase.

While the appraisal district statistics are not an exact reflection of market conditions and current valuations, they generally point to the prevailing trends in this instance, principal Matt Deal tells us.

“A few years ago, valuations were escalating rapidly while Houston’s economy was leading the nation. Some commercial properties, such as development sites in the city’s Inner Loop, were increasing more than 20% annually. That is definitely not occurring in 2016,” he says. Values are moderating on average but in retail and industrial, there hasn't been a softening. Matt says the pent-up demand of retail is keeping values high, and depending on the submarket, increasing.