Property Type

The real estate capital markets are a funny thing — one minute you’re up and the next you’re down. The debt market starts making investors bring more equity to the table, reserves tied to energy-related tenancy are mandated, the four-letter word “recourse” is thrown around and more scrutiny is placed on every detail. No one wants to be laughed out of a committee meeting for trying to push through a multi-million dollar loan on an office building in the Energy Capital of the World. The same holds true in the equity market. Return requirements that fluctuate along the risk/return spectrum haven’t changed, but underwriting scrutiny has. Market rent growth has been scaled back or even gone negative, energy-related tenancy is being given a lower retention ratio or being downsized, downstream tenancy is more favorable than upstream tenancy, mark-to-market value-add strategies have been replaced with income preservation strategies, etc. Individually, these various reactions in the debt and equity market don’t have a huge impact on values. Combined, they have a material impact. You would think that this environment would bring about great opportunities for investors with a long-term, bullish view on Houston’s office market. Instead, most owners will be patient, electing …