Texas Market Reports

By Randy Summers, vice president, CCIM, CPM, Davis Equity Realty “Y’all come” is the message being sent to developers, retailers, franchisees, quick-service restaurants, corporations and manufacturers from the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of Texas — and all these users seem to be heeding the call.  The local economy seems to be hitting on all cylinders, albeit with constraints on labor and supplies, as well as rising costs. The four counties that statistically make up the RGV — Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr and Willacy — combine to produce a regional population of over 1.4 million and a workforce population of over 485,000. While COVID-19 continues to have lasting effects on labor, the Small Business Administration reported that the Lower Rio Grande Valley District, which serves 14 counties, had 44,471 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans approved totaling $2.4 billion.  Of that, 71 percent were loans for the RGV’s four counties representing 59 percent of the dollar amount, or $1.4 billion.  That is a considerable amount of money that was pumped into the local economy and doesn’t include the $64.6 million in grants provided to restaurants through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund out of the American Rescue Plan Act. Year-to-date sales tax revenue provided …

By Andy Moreno, director of operations, MIMCO; and McGee Sauls, senior vice president, MIMCO Historically, the El Paso market has often been overlooked, primarily due to its distance from other major Texas markets. However, that sentiment is shifting rapidly due to strong economic and population growth. While an accurate figure is difficult to pin down, the number of new entries and expanding franchises within the market has exploded in recent years. “As recently as 2015, national and regional operators were only beginning to recognize the sales potential of the El Paso market and just how underserved the growing population had become,” states Scott Walker, president of MIMCO. “Competition was limited, which led to advantages for existing operators. The landscape shifted dramatically due to the pandemic; since the second quarter of 2020, new retail categories have become active,” he continues. “Marketing quality sites generally leads to multiple offers from competing operators including car washes, lube shops, coffee shops and quick-service restaurants. We love to see this variety move into our market and drive competition for the next great location.” Market competition is advantageous and a key driver of innovation. Retailers use competition to discover and adopt the most efficient processes that …

By Steve Monroe, CCIM, San Antonio market manager, Oldham Goodwin The past year has seen steady improvement in the key performance metrics of the San Antonio retail market.  Two years ago, participants in the retail sector, both local and national, were understandably preoccupied with questions about how the COVID-19 pandemic would impact retailers and owners of retail properties. The shift toward online shopping had begun several years earlier, and there was great fear that the pandemic would accelerate that trend such that it would prove fatal to retailers. The economic slowdown and quarantine restrictions that were implemented during the early part of the crisis appeared to validate those concerns. However, with the widespread availability and use of vaccines during the past 12 months, the San Antonio retail market, which initially saw significant layoffs and dramatic slowdowns, has come roaring back. The move toward online buying has indeed continued apace, and some consumers have shifted toward having goods delivered to them or utilizing curbside pickup models. In spite of these changes, nimble retailers have adapted to the changing landscape, and most are now thriving.   In fact, for most retailers, the biggest operational problems have nothing to do with lack of …