Texas Market Reports

Austin Multifamily Market’s New Focus: Workforce Housing

by Taylor Williams April 12, 2019

As demand for housing increases with Austin’s growing population, all eyes are on the multifamily housing market. But with rents rising as well, pressure on the already-sparse affordable housing stock is more intense than ever. Traditionally, affordable housing has served as a resource for low-income residents, those who earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Providing affordable housing has become a major priority for Austin’s city council and developers during this cycle. But a growing concern involves the segment of the population caught in the middle: those who may not qualify to live in traditional affordable housing properties, but for whom market-rate apartment prices are getting uncomfortably high. The solution? Workforce housing. Rapid Residential Growth Average rent is increasing faster in Austin than in any other major metropolitan city in Texas. This activity is pushing workers out of housing they could afford in areas that are convenient for them and forcing many into long commutes from unfamiliar neighborhoods. According to industry data, in 2018, rents in Austin rose by 4.4 percent, in contrast to 3.8 percent in Fort Worth, 3.5 percent in San Antonio and 2.7 percent in Dallas. And the squeeze on lower-income residents …

April 12, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

No Slowdown in Demand for Industrial Space

by Taylor Williams April 9, 2019

The combined forces of population growth, increased online shopping and demand for last-mile fulfillment centers are driving development of and investment in industrial assets in major markets. Natural population growth translates to more aggregate demand and consumption of goods and services. The rise of e-commerce has guaranteed that a growing percentage of those products will be ordered online and delivered to end users within a few days, hence the need for more fulfillment and distribution facilities near major population centers. The metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston are home to a combined 13 million or so people and counting. Both MSAs have seen major upticks in industrial development over the last several years while also posting record absorption numbers. And despite some vast differences between the industries and users driving demand in DFW and Houston, both markets reflect how sweeping changes in consumer behavior have elevated the fundamentals of their industrial real estate inventories. Regardless how different their economies are, demand for space in both markets should remain robust in 2019. By The Numbers According to CoStar Group, DFW posted positive net absorption of approximately 20 million square feet in 2018, a year in which inventory …

April 9, 2019

Market Reports Restaurant Retail Texas Texas Market Reports

Originality, Variety Define Success in Austin’s Restaurant Scene

by Taylor Williams April 5, 2019

Austin’s retail and restaurant market is rapidly becoming one of the hippest and most dynamic scenes in the country, as new concepts are flocking to the state capital in lockstep with its remarkable job and population growth. The push by both new and established retailers and restaurants to grab a piece of the Austin pie has driven the city’s retail occupancy rate to roughly 93 percent. Annual rent growth has exceeded 10 percent at Class A properties in submarkets such as the Central Business District (CBD) and East Austin. But while demand for retail and restaurant space in Austin’s urban core is at an all-time high, so too are rates of turnover among these users. A Gentrified Market The driving factors behind these trends are fairly straightforward. Buoyed by the still-surging job growth in the tech industry, the median age of Austin’s population is getting lower, currently sitting at about 34 years. Many of these residents have high-paying jobs, are new to the city and are eager to take advantage of its thriving food, beverage and entertainment options. The gentrification of some of Austin’s historic neighborhoods is well underway and expected to continue in the near future as tech giants …

April 5, 2019

Market Reports Mixed-Use Texas Texas Market Reports

Making ‘Live, Work, Play’ A Reality

by Taylor Williams April 2, 2019

Mixed-use properties come in all shapes, sizes and locations, but developers say the most effective projects are those that transform multi-use real estate developments into unique destinations with vibrant social scenes. In Texas’ biggest markets, robust job and population growth have bolstered demand for more apartments and hotels, as well as office, retail and restaurant space. But it takes a developer that understands human psychology and social behaviors to successfully combine three or more of these uses into a final product that receives equal levels of demand for each use. To that end, the “live, work, play” notion has become a catchphrase that to some extent figures into the branding and marketing campaigns of virtually every mixed-use project that comes out of the ground. However, the developments that become real hubs for social gathering, new experiences and the general passing of time are those in which uses complement one another, and in which the site supports all uses evenly. “The concept behind ‘mixed-use’ — a smaller environment where uses aren’t as clearly separated and people conduct their home, work and entertainment lives in the same place — really defines how people live in many other parts of the world,” says …

April 2, 2019

Market Reports Multifamily Texas Texas Market Reports

Addressing Increasing Demand in Austin’s Apartment Market

by Taylor Williams March 29, 2019

The Austin apartment market is currently experiencing significant growth. Increasing demand is driving more intensive development and developers are addressing tenants’ desire for a better experience. The result is the development of communities that capitalize on space to the fullest extent. Architects are providing extremely detailed designs of common area “living experiences” before properties are constructed. Examples of such designs include the final positioning of equipment in fitness centers, pool/cabana layouts, rooftop lounges and Zen gardens that are thoughtfully and efficiently planned to maximize the effect while being cost-conscious. The importance of garage layouts and identifying necessary parking needed has increased as we become more dependent on ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, as well as Lime and Bird scooters to move around the city. Job, Population Growth The key to the success of new developments and long-term investments is the ongoing population and job growth, future projections of which remain extremely positive. Austin enjoys a prime age (25 to 34) rental percentage that reportedly exceeds 30 percent, approximately 44 percent higher than the national average of 20.9 percent. Additionally, we must take into consideration locals opting to move from single-family homes to rental communities in favor of more services …

March 29, 2019

Market Reports Office Texas Texas Market Reports

Austin Office Market’s Central Business District: Past, Present and Future

by Taylor Williams March 22, 2019

In 1987, Austin was a relatively quiet market where the major industries were higher education and state government, along with some large technology companies like IBM. Fast forward to 2019 where Austin continues to make national headlines, receiving high accolades as a top place to live and a leading city for millennial growth. This transformation — coupled with an increasing number of companies choosing to move or expand in Austin — begs the question: Why Austin? How did the Texas capital go from a fairly sleepy town to one of the hottest markets in the country? What really accounts for this seismic shift and what does the future hold? The Office Boom Begins In 2004, after the dot-com bust hit Austin, a group of private business leaders felt compelled to take the destiny of the city into their own hands with the creation of Opportunity Austin within the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Opportunity Austin was launched with the goal of creating 72,000 regional jobs and increasing regional payrolls by $2.9 billion within five years. To do this, the regional business community invested $14.4 million in the program. These funds allowed the Austin Chamber to increase initiatives for corporate recruitment …

March 22, 2019

Market Reports Retail Texas Texas Market Reports

Redevelopment Defined Fort Worth Retail Market in 2018

by Taylor Williams March 15, 2019

2018 was a year of redevelopment, adjustment and correction for the Fort Worth retail market. Some real estate professionals believe this activity was the result of the collective, pent-up demand among quality retailers for a store presence in Fort Worth. Some believed they that could duplicate the atmosphere created by The Domain, a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use destination in Austin that has achieved tremendous success. The previous three years saw more than 2.5 million square feet of new retail space delivered in Fort Worth, a figure that exceeds the combined total for the previous 10 years. For example, in September 2017 Simon Property Group, in partnership with Cassco Development Co., opened The Shops at Clearfork, a 500,000-square-foot, open-air luxury shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destination situated in the heart of Fort Worth. The Shops at Clearfork also includes office space. Other retail projects that contributed to new supply included WestBend, Waterside, Left Bank and Presidio. This new development caused a spike in vacancy to 8.7 percent by the end of the year as landlords were all looking to stabilize their assets from the same tenant pool. At the same time, retailers, restaurants, service firms and experiential companies were cautious and calculated …

March 15, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

Quality of Labor, Land Availability Buoy Fort Worth Industrial Market

by Taylor Williams March 8, 2019

The DFW industrial market has enjoyed unprecedented growth over this seven-year development cycle. The market has added approximately 118 million square feet of industrial inventory over that period and absorbed 143 million square feet. Population growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, the state of Texas and the south-central U.S. region, as well as growth in e-commerce, are the primary tailwinds propelling this extraordinary growth. Ever since Hillwood broke ground on AllianceTexas in the late 1980s, putting north Fort Worth on the radar of industrial users, the expansion in the Fort Worth industrial market has been an ever-increasing part of the overall DFW industrial market’s growth. However, the Fort Worth industrial market’s growth is really accelerating now based on the lack of available developable industrial sites in Dallas and the Mid-Cities. Further, when users and developers compare Fort Worth and southeast Dallas, the two areas with available industrial spaces and developable industrial land, Fort Worth’s advantages with regard to infrastructure, amenities, and most importantly, labor, stand out. As the area reaches peak employment, and with labor cost being the highest percentage of a user’s overall operational cost, the workforce factor has become the most important site selection criterion for users …

March 8, 2019

Market Reports Multifamily Texas Texas Market Reports

Why Arlington Should Be on Every Multifamily Developers’ Radar

by Taylor Williams March 1, 2019

Our borrowers’ favorite question is, “Where should we build next?” As a lender specializing in financing Texas apartment communities, it’s hard to get the answer wrong. Our state is full of cities adding jobs and people at faster rates than the nation as a whole. As we drill down to help our clients differentiate between “good markets” and “good opportunities,” we focus on several factors including the current rental market, supply and demand and location. When considering these factors, the city of Arlington stands out as an overlooked “good opportunity.” It’s surprising how little attention this city of 400,000 in the middle of the metroplex has received from multifamily developers in recent years. Even as home to an ever-expanding General Motors assembly plant, one of the state’s largest universities, an entertainment district featuring two $1 billion stadiums, an extensive highway system, easy access to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and a pro-growth local government, we haven’t worked with a developer yet that had Arlington on its list before we talked. Yet the selling points are obvious. Current Rental Market Overall, market-rate properties in Arlington show steady occupancy at 93 percent with average rents of $1.20 per square foot and annual …

March 1, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

E-Commerce, Distribution Users Spar for Labor

by Taylor Williams February 22, 2019

Industrial users in Texas, particularly e-commerce firms operating out of large-format distribution centers, are finding it harder and harder to staff their facilities with experienced, talented workers. Development of both speculative and build-to-suit warehouses and distribution centers has been on fire in major Texas markets over the last several years, driven by an abundance of land, exceptional infrastructure and climbing populations. According to CoStar Group, Dallas-Fort Worth’s (DFW) industrial supply grew by 3.5 percent, or roughly 30 million square feet, in 2017. That figure represents the highest single-year inventory growth in more than a decade. Approximately 21 million square feet of new space hit the market in 2018, and for 2019, CoStar forecasts that nearly 24 million square feet of product will be delivered. Houston’s supply growth has been tamer, averaging about 12.2 million square feet annually between 2015 and 2018. But the market is projected to add another 13.2 million square feet this year, per CoStar. With a couple exceptions, more than 90 percent of the new product delivered in DFW and Houston in each year between 2015 and 2018 was distribution space. The distribution building booms in Texas’ two biggest markets have occurred in the face of escalating …

February 22, 2019

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