Amarillo’s market rarely experiences periods of rapid growth or rapid deceleration. The market cycle sustains solid performance. This stability is due to a well-rounded economy that has benefitted from strong commodity prices and job growth. Like many markets around the country, the last couple years have been fairly flat, but we did see some areas of economic strength. Retail sales were much higher in 2013 compared to the lower levels of 2012. The leasing of previously empty big box space, significant centers changing hands and the construction of new projects point to a promising 2014. According to the Amarillo Economic Forecast for 2014 published by Amarillo National Bank, 2013 saw retail sales up 8 percent from the previous year. While such aspects as gains in the stock market have been a factor, a hail storm and the subsequent claims contributed to the increase as well. After a lull, national and regional tenants are making their way back to Amarillo. The leasing of two previously vacant big box spaces are indications of this reality: A 40,000-square-foot space at The Summit Shopping Center was leased by Sears Outlet, and a 33,000-square-foot vacancy at the Shops on Soncy, previously occupied by Circuit City, …
Texas Market Reports
The Dallas/Fort Worth industrial market is one of the healthiest in the country and dodged the recession unscathed. Texas leads the nation in job growth and has now enjoyed six years of economic growth, and the cold hard facts underpin our high-performance industrial marketplace. Some 548,000 jobs have been added to the state of Texas since 2008, and Dallas/Fort Worth ranks third among metro areas in the state for job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately 1.2 million new residents were added to the Dallas/Fort Worth area from 2000 to 2010. Business Facilities magazine ranks Dallas as the No. 3 center in the U.S. for logistics and distribution, while Fort Worth is ranked No. 5 for aerospace and manufacturing. We know about Houston’s oil and gas-fueled economy, San Antonio’s growing entertainment and defense sector and Austin’s phenomenal growth backed by tech companies and anchored by state government. But what’s up with North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth economic drivers? For readers in the developer camp, they will be pleased to know that DFW was on track to have a record year of absorption in 2013 by the time we went to press with this article in …
Looking back five years ago to the outset of 2009, new construction was the hot topic in the San Antonio office market. In 2008, 12 new office buildings were completed, adding approximately 1.5 million square feet to the market. That equated to a 6 percent increase in existing office inventory, with the new product concentrated in the key Northwest and North Central office submarkets.Of course, new development slowed considerably as the recession set in and wore on. Fast-forward to 2013, and as of press time the San Antonio office market only added 166,630 square feet of new product. The good news, though, is that San Antonio metro employment suffered much shorter and shallower losses than other metro areas as a result of the Great Recession. What’s more, the recovery from these losses has been sharp, with nearly 58,000 jobs added since local employment hit its lowest point in 2009, or approximately three new jobs for every one lost in the local downturn.One-third of these new jobs (or about 19,000) were created in office-using sectors such as finance, insurance and engineering. As a result, the office market is recovering, led by Class A space. The rapid decline in Class A vacancy …
The Corpus Christi regional economy has been pushed into overdrive with the South Texas oil boom, which is resulting mainly from the Eagle Ford Shale play. The main area of Eagle Ford is located about 90 miles to the north, but the impact to the Corpus Christi economy is tremendous. The Port of Corpus Christi is at the center of this growth, with billions of dollars foreign and domestic being spent on projects throughout the Port and the area. China-based Tianjin Pipe Corporation (TPCO) is under construction on their $1.3 billion plan that will manufacture oil and gas pipes. Switzerland-based Trafigura AG is spending around $500 million to build crude oil and natural gas storage docks, and Cheniere Energy is planning a $10 billion plant that liquefies natural gas to sell it abroad. All of the above and several other projects are bringing workers and money into our economy. The refineries (Valero, Citgo, Lyondell and more) are operating at capacity with continual upgrade projects on their board. Of course, with the industrial growth, you can expect retail growth, and 2013 was indeed been a strong year for Corpus Christi. To list just a few of the national and regional tenants …
Looking back five years ago to the outset of 2009, new construction was the hot topic in the San Antonio office market. In 2008, 12 new office buildings were completed, adding approximately 1.5 million square feet to the market. That equated to a 6 percent increase in existing office inventory, with the new product concentrated in the key Northwest and North Central office submarkets. Of course, new development slowed considerably as the recession set in and wore on. Fast-forward to 2013, and as of press time the San Antonio office market only added 166,630 square feet of new product. The good news, though, is that San Antonio metro employment suffered much shorter and shallower losses than other metro areas as a result of the Great Recession. What’s more, the recovery from these losses has been sharp, with nearly 58,000 jobs added since local employment hit its lowest point in 2009, or approximately three new jobs for every one lost in the local downturn. One-third of these new jobs (or about 19,000) were created in office-using sectors such as finance, insurance and engineering. As a result, the office market is recovering, led by Class A space. The rapid decline in Class …
The Corpus Christi regional economy has been pushed into overdrive with the South Texas oil boom, which is resulting mainly from the Eagle Ford Shale play. The main area of Eagle Ford is located about 90 miles to the north, but the impact to the Corpus Christi economy is tremendous. The Port of Corpus Christi is at the center of this growth, with billions of dollars foreign and domestic being spent on projects throughout the Port and the area. China-based Tianjin Pipe Corporation (TPCO) is under construction on their $1.3 billion plan that will manufacture oil and gas pipes. Switzerland-based Trafigura AG is spending around $500 million to build crude oil and natural gas storage docks, and Cheniere Energy is planning a $10 billion plant that liquefies natural gas to sell it abroad. All of the above and several other projects are bringing workers and money into our economy. The refineries (Valero, Citgo, Lyondell and more) are operating at capacity with continual upgrade projects on their board. Of course, with the industrial growth, you can expect retail growth, and 2013 was indeed been a strong year for Corpus Christi. To list just a few of the national and regional tenants …
The Dallas/Fort Worth industrial market is one of the healthiest in the country and dodged the recession unscathed. Texas leads the nation in job growth and has now enjoyed six years of economic growth, and the cold hard facts underpin our high-performance industrial marketplace. Some 548,000 jobs have been added to the state of Texas since 2008, and Dallas/Fort Worth ranks third among metro areas in the state for job growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately 1.2 million new residents were added to the Dallas/Fort Worth area from 2000 to 2010. Business Facilities magazine ranks Dallas as the No. 3 center in the U.S. for logistics and distribution, while Fort Worth is ranked No. 5 for aerospace and manufacturing. We know about Houston’s oil and gas-fueled economy, San Antonio’s growing entertainment and defense sector and Austin’s phenomenal growth backed by tech companies and anchored by state government. But what’s up with North Texas and the Dallas/Fort Worth economic drivers? For readers in the developer camp, they will be pleased to know that DFW was on track to have a record year of absorption in 2013 by the time we went to press with this article in …
Looking back five years ago to the outset of 2009, new construction was the hot topic in the San Antonio office market. In 2008, 12 new office buildings were completed, adding approximately 1.5 million square feet to the market. That equated to a 6 percent increase in existing office inventory, with the new product concentrated in the key Northwest and North Central office submarkets. Of course, new development slowed considerably as the recession set in and wore on. Fast-forward to 2013, and as of press time the San Antonio office market only added 166,630 square feet of new product. The good news, though, is that San Antonio metro employment suffered much shorter and shallower losses than other metro areas as a result of the Great Recession. What’s more, the recovery from these losses has been sharp, with nearly 58,000 jobs added since local employment hit its lowest point in 2009, or approximately three new jobs for every one lost in the local downturn. One-third of these new jobs (or about 19,000) were created in office-using sectors such as finance, insurance and engineering. As a result, the office market is recovering, led by Class A space. The rapid decline in Class …
A report t on the Houston retail real estate market reads somewhat like a 1960s newspaper headline: Low vacancy rates! Rising rent for retailers! Bidding wars and a soaring housing market! Together, these factors make the greater Houston area one of the most dynamic retail markets in North America. A Landlord’s Market Conditions clearly favor the landlords. Quality space that was renting in the low $20s per square foot during the downturn now commands rents in the $30s and in some cases the low $40s. Fierce competition for quality space is particularly intense within the range of 1,500 to 3,500 square feet. This has been forcing brokers and Realtors to get creative in discovering and closing on any available quality space for their tenants. Some are pressing landlords about space that’s set to roll over or asking which tenants may be willing to relocate. Rents are increasing largely because of high retail occupancy, which edged up from 93.3 percent to 93.5 in the Houston MSA during second quarter 2013, according to CoStar. At mid-year, net retail space absorption stood at a healthy 980,185 square feet. Yet, despite these positive signs, the Houston area’s older Class B and Class C retail …
Saying that Austin's multifamily market has been a strong performer for the past several years would be stating the obvious and hardly newsworthy, considering that all of the well-reported economic rankings list Austin at or near the top. Nevertheless, the numbers from the past five years are remarkable. While 2013 will go into the record books as one of the best years for multifamily landlords, the real story for 2014 — and beyond — is how the market responds to the two forces that have clearly started to change: supply and financing. Supply Surge There is no hiding the fact that a building boom is occurring in central Austin, as the cranes for multi-family construction easily outnumber the activity in hospitality and office properties combined. Completions for 2014 are expected to be approximately 12,000 units, with the highest concentration (more than 3,000 units) in the central sub-markets. This is a dramatic increase in new supply in a market that has been significantly under supplied due to the collapse of the capital markets in 2008. After a couple of years focused on urban, in-fill projects, the recent third quarter reports indicate that developers are returning to the suburbs, with over 18,000 …