The Texas Real Estate Research Center has announced that Dr. Lynn Krebs has joined the TRERC staff, specializing in rural land and property taxes.
This announcement marks the homecoming of Krebs, who began his career as a graduate assistant at TRERC in 1992 while attending Texas A&M University, where TRERC is located.
He got his Ph.D. He is from Georgia State University. From 1994 until 2003 he served as Director of Education and Certification Programs at the Institute of Professionals in Taxation.
“A lot has changed,” said Krebs, who studied both undergraduate and master’s programs at Texas A&M, but has always been proud of the quality of work and resources the group provides.
“Lynn brings a wealth of experience in commercial real estate,” said Gary Muller, executive director of the Center, in a news release. “He leads a large real estate tax consulting firm and has a deep understanding of real estate market fundamentals and real estate valuations.”
Krebs was in property tax consulting from 2007 to 2022. Most recently, he was CEO of Tax Advisors Group.
In this role, Krebs conducts research, writes articles and gives public presentations to people in the real estate industry. His main focus is local land markets and price trends and forecasts.
“We are living in interesting times,” he said, noting that the economy has not experienced the dynamics that have occurred since coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While saying it’s impossible to know what the future holds, if history has taught the industry anything, it’s that rural land has been an excellent hedge against inflation.
TRERC has found rural Texas land to act like an investment vehicle, as opposed to agricultural production in other states, he said.
Regarding property taxes, he said, on average, income from property taxes continues to increase as the population grows. are having an impact on controlling property taxes, which is a relief for homeowners.
The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 2 in 2019. This measure would slow future property tax bill growth by lowering the rollback rate for cities and counties with populations greater than 30,000 from 8% to 3.5%.
Krebs said homeowners will be “pleasantly surprised” when the tax rate is lowered in October due to higher valuations.
“That’s the way the system is supposed to work,” he said.