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Texas Market Reports

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IndustrialLee & AssociatesMarket ReportsTexasTexas Market Reports

Laredo, Texas: The World’s Largest Port, A Supply Chain Powerhouse

by Taylor Williams

By Enrique Volkmer, associate at Lee & Associates Laredo, Texas, has emerged as one of the largest ports in the world by volume and crossings, driven by its robust infrastructure and strategic location. According to 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Port of Laredo was responsible for handling an aggregate amount of product valued at about $320 billion, the most in the country by that metric. In addition, a 2024 article from Transport Topics, citing data from the Laredo Economic Development Corp., stated that the Port of Laredo sees more than 5.5 million truck crossings per year. The article also noted that the port is home to 660 trucking and transportation companies, 250 freight forwarders and 120 U.S. Customs brokers. Recent analysis of freight costs conducted by LoadWise 3PL and OL Logistics found that shipping product from Laredo to several major destinations, including Detroit, Atlanta, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, actually yields savings compared to shipping from Houston to those cities, all other factors being held equal. The same study revealed a cost advantage when shipping westward from Laredo instead of Dallas to select markets such as Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. Freight is often …

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IndustrialMarket ReportsTexasTexas Market Reports

Industrial Investment Opportunities in Texas Take Different Forms, Remain Robust

by Taylor Williams

Despite fresh injections of geopolitical chaos and renewed fears of tariff-induced inflation, the new year has brought an elevated sense of positivity among Texas industrial investors and the brokers who represent them. Although the sector is hardly flying as high as it was three years ago, the strong underlying fundamentals of Texas markets represent a story that has yet to see an unhappy ending. In addition, there is an understanding that with all setbacks and disruptions comes new opportunities. Between that highly specific Texas real estate dynamic and that generic fortune cookie wisdom is the framework for industrial growth on both the supply and demand sides.  “We are huge believers in the Texas growth story and have conviction that the existing tailwinds will continue to propel our markets here to the forefront of the industrial investment landscape,” says Will Cronin, vice president of acquisitions at Dallas-based investment firm CanTex Capital. “The capital flows continuing to come here bear that out.” Cronin’s perspective on industrial is both nuanced and appropriate. He says that since its inception, CanTex has primarily pursued off-market deals that were available not because of outstanding market fundamentals, but due to external factors like estate planning, changing tenant …

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LYV-Broadway-Carrollton
Market ReportsRetailTexasTexas Market Reports

Texas Case Study: Retail Research, Municipal Partnership Drive Successful Placemaking, Urban Vibrancy

by Taylor Williams

By Jonathan Brown of JHP Architecture/Urban Design The essence of a thriving city lies in its diversity.  Dynamic urban landscapes can achieve this effect by offering a robust mix of uses that cater to a wide range of people, keeping their streets and buildings lively and vibrant throughout the day and into the night.  City administrators, architects and master planners have long sought the alchemical mixture for this success. However, zoning codes for various municipalities can often read like complex recipes: A cup of residential here, a few ounces of retail there, a pinch of municipal infrastructure all around, a dash of hidden parking and a sprinkling of community open space to really tie the flavors together! Successful placemaking is not simply the sum composition of all its parts; it requires thoughtful integration and balance. With today’s housing shortages, multifamily developments make sense, but integrating retail uses within those projects is challenging.  This is despite the fact that many comprehensive plans and zoning codes mandate specific retail quotas, which may not be easily supported by the economics.   Creating vibrant, engaging spaces requires more than just ticking boxes in the zoning code. Stakeholders want to avoid ending up with a …

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The-Knox-Dallas
Market ReportsOfficeTexasTexas Market Reports

Tenants’ Flight to Quality Remains Entrenched Across Texas Office Markets

by Taylor Williams

The “flight to quality” trend has been ensconced in the embattled office sector for much of the post-pandemic era, and it’s showing little sign of slowing in the major markets of Texas.   With overall tenant demand depressed in the aftermath of COVID-19, opportunities existed in droves for office users to upgrade their spaces and move into buildings with desirable amenities and vibrant surrounding neighborhoods. In doing so, these companies sought to incentivize their employees to come back to the office. Simultaneously, owners that invested in wellness features and activation programs for their properties sought to gain a leg up on the competition — and make tough conversations with lenders a bit more palatable. Whether or not those initiatives worked as intended undoubtedly varies greatly from company to company and owner to owner. But after multiple years of stagnant occupancy and rent growth, the targeting of seemingly superior buildings and locations has come to represent more than just opportunistic decision-making by tenants. It’s a movement that has created visible delineation among winning and losing submarkets, a strategy that embodies basic financial prudence and perhaps a necessary evil — assuming that office usage is finally starting to rebound in a meaningful …

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Conference CoverageMarket ReportsRetailTexasTexas Market Reports

InterFace Panel: Retail, Restaurant Operators Targeting Austin MSA Must Temper Expectations

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams AUSTIN, TEXAS — On the surface, Austin has everything that expanding retail and restaurant operators could possibly want: youth, density, culture, high-paying jobs. Yet when these users begin scouting and diving into the state capital’s retail real estate market, they often find that entering or expanding there is much easier said than done. Skyrocketing home prices, increased vehicular congestion and limited infrastructure outside the urban core are just the most visible ways in which Austin has been somewhat victimized by its own torrid growth over the past 10 to 15 years. And each of those variables factors into retail site selection and contributes to the challenges of adding new retail and restaurant space to the market. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Simply put, if there are no rooftops, roads, parking spaces and utilities, there can be no new retail development. Such is the story in some of Austin’s more remote suburbs, though few doubt that those preliminary requirements for retail growth will eventually be delivered. But there is also the issue of raw …

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Conference CoverageIndustrialMarket ReportsTexasTexas Market Reports

InterFace Panel: Automotive Users, Data Centers Drive Demand, Vie for Power in San Antonio Industrial Market

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams SAN ANTONIO — Automotive parts manufacturers and data center operators both represent major sources of demand for industrial space in San Antonio, as well as major consumers of electrical resources. Both sets of users are increasingly prioritizing access to cheap, abundant electricity in their site selection and other real estate decisions. But that’s about where their similarities end. For the automotive industry has been a source of job growth and retention in the San Antonio area for decades, whereas data centers are a relatively new phenomenon that offer minimal contributions to local employment. And in between the two on the spectrum of industrial end users are third-party distribution and logistics companies, which really represent the market’s bread-and-butter tenant. But these groups typically don’t have such taxing power demands. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. For data center developers and users, the need and demand for affordable, plentiful power is nothing new. And the fact that Texas has long had its own deregulated power grid has contributed mightily to the state landing many of those …

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Affordable HousingConference CoverageMarket ReportsMultifamilyTexasTexas Market Reports

InterFace Panel: Texas Affordable Housing Sales Volume Should Rebound Marginally in 2025

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams DALLAS — As is the case for many commercial asset classes and markets in 2025, there is an expectation of elevated deal volume for investment sales of affordable housing properties in Texas. But brokers in that space caution that the rebound will likely be marginal and is not necessarily indicative of ideal market conditions taking hold. A quintet of panelists broke down this notion and others at the InterFace Texas Affordable & Workforce Housing conference on Feb. 13 at the Westin Galleria Dallas hotel. Mary Ann Bennett, senior managing director at BBG Real Estate Services, moderated the discussion on investment sales activity. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Panelist Michael Furrow, senior vice president of affordable housing at commercial finance firm BWE, took the audience of 200-plus back in time to illustrate just how quiet the past two years had been. He did so by providing statistics on affordable housing sales for Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) between 2021 — when multifamily rents and sales prices were peaking across the board — and 2024, when they …

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Market ReportsMultifamilyTexasTexas Market Reports

DFW Multifamily Market Defies Economic Headwinds — Here’s Why Smart Investors Are Paying Attention

by Taylor Williams

By Joe Lutz, managing director at Leon Multifamily Group Market uncertainty has many real estate investors hesitating. Rising costs, high interest rates and shifting supply-demand dynamics add to the caution. Yet Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) remains a powerhouse in multifamily development, driven by strong demand and solid market fundamentals. For those willing to act, the opportunities are hard to ignore. Investor caution is evident, with a “stay alive through ’25” mentality  reflecting economic pressures. Transaction volumes have dropped to historic lows. Newmark Capital Research (NCR) reports that 2023 and 2024 saw the weakest activity since 2013, with sales down 30 percent compared to the pre-COVID era. For the first time since 2008, 2023 ended without the usual year-end sales uptick, and 2024 data suggests a similar trend. While some feared a market collapse, conditions haven’t reached Great Financial Crisis levels. The multifamily sector faces supply imbalances and growing debt pressures. Construction starts hit their lowest levels since 2013, while completions exceeded new starts by over 200,000 units — a gap unseen since the 1970s, according to data from NCR. The surge in 2023 completions resulted from post-COVID, low-interest-rate incentives, but now concerns over vacancies, concessions and stagnant rent growth linger. Debt …

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Market ReportsTexasTexas Market Reports

Local Survey: Texas Brokers, Owners Display Optimism for Second Trump Administration

by Taylor Williams

By Taylor Williams According to the results of Texas Real Estate Business’ annual reader forecast survey, to many commercial brokers and owners in Texas, the change of power in the White House is very much a good thing.  In the survey, respondents across a wide range of commercial jobs, practices and asset classes shared expectations for 2025 across an even wider range of topics. But as is usually the case every fourth December, it was the results of the presidential election that generated the most insight and feedback from participants. Like the man himself, the commentary on Donald Trump was often polarizing, but it’s a welcome respite from years of focusing on inflation and interest rates. Across two separate surveys, 45 brokers and owners/developers answered, via free-response format, the same question of how Trump’s re-election would impact the industry in the short run. Though in their entirety, responses ran the gamut from effusive to disheartened and everything in between — with many respondents unsurprisingly opting to remain anonymous — the overall resulting feeling is clearly one of optimism.  During his first term as president, Trump, a major commercial developer himself, routinely pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, which …

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Market ReportsRetailTexasTexas Market Reports

San Antonio Retail Market Maintains High Occupancy Streak

by Taylor Williams

By William McDonough, vice president, Weitzman San Antonio’s retail market is reporting record-high occupancy as it continues its longest-ever streak of balanced supply and demand. With a new high of 95.2 percent, the Alamo City retail market has now posted healthy occupancy rates of 90 percent or higher for 14 years straight. The occupancy rate is based on Weitzman’s review of a total San Antonio retail inventory of approximately 49 million square feet of retail space in multi-tenant shopping centers with 25,000 square feet or more. Occupancy remains high due to stable tenant retention and strong demand for well-located vacancies. For example, shortly after Conn’s announced in mid-2024 that it planned to close its area stores, discount apparel retailer Burlington announced its plans to backfill three of the nine stores slated for closure. The market is also reporting an increase in new construction, but the deliveries overall have actually increased occupancy due to the fact that they are primarily for anchor stores and largely preleased shop space. Last year, the market did see new vacancies created due to the chain-wide failures of Conn’s, Big Lots, American Freight Furniture and 99 Cents Only. But in a tight market like San Antonio’s, …

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