Posted on August 8, 2025
Why Texas’ $1.5 B Film & TV Incentive Matters for Commercial Appraisals
Texas is making a bold play to attract film and TV production, with historic implications for commercial real estate appraisal. Through Senate Bill 22, the state has locked in $300 million every two years until 2035—a total of $1.5 billion—to bolster the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. This marks the largest investment in media jobs in Texas history.
Why this matters to commercial real estate appraisal
When studios pour hundreds of millions into production, they don’t just shoot on location—they lease soundstages, office space, warehouses, parking lots, and post‑production facilities. That ripple effect has a direct and measurable impact:
- Demand surge for specialized properties: Industrial and flex spaces equipped for production are now in hot demand. Appraising these assets requires factoring in higher lease rates, occupancy growth, and cap‑rate compression, core aspects of a commercial appraisal.
- Infrastructure investment: Developers have ramped up production, including new studio campuses and adaptive reuse of industrial assets, anticipating long‑term demand. With this, a pulse on local zoning changes, future build‑out, and enhanced utility availability is necessary.
- Market comparables shift: As production tenants enter markets, comps begin to reflect higher lease and sale prices indicating a need to adjust income models, cap rates, and stabilized vacancy assumptions accordingly.
What we’re watching next
1. Leasing & income trends. We expect upward pressure on rents for industrial flex and production-ready spaces—good news for valuation under the income approach.
2. Capital markets & investor interest. New investor capital may flow into the asset types powering production support, boosting valuation multiples. Appraisers should weigh sales trends in major markets like Dallas–Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston.
3. Long-term vs. short-term demand. With funding secured through 2035, this is more than a flash-in-the-pan boom. That extended horizon strengthens value stability and lease term assumptions—critical for underwriting.
Viewing these changes with a commercial real estate appraisal lens, as Texas positions itself among top film-production states, these developments translate into real valuation opportunities and challenges. At LPA, we combine data-driven analysis with real-world insight to deliver valuation reports you can trust. From industrial assets to office parks and mixed-use developments, we help our clients make sense of value, one property at a time.
