Retail

Compared to the four major MSAs in Texas, El Paso has often been overlooked by national and regional retailers. But times change, and interest in retail real estate in West Texas is at an all-time high. Major retailers that have taken space in El Paso are experiencing steady sales growth and expanding their footprints. Over the last couple years, we’ve seen new leases for major retailers, including At Home Furniture — which leased more than 100,000 square feet at its newest location — Ross Dress For Less, Tuesday Morning, Marshall’s and Sprouts Farmers Market, to name a few. Like the rest of Texas, El Paso’s economy is growing and strengthening. The city has posted a 3.7 percent unemployment rate to start the year, which is lower than the state (3.9 percent) and national (4.1 percent) averages. The city’s population continues to grow, driven by downtown office development, greater military spending (El Paso’s resident military base, Fort Bliss, houses tens of thousands of active duty and reservist military personnel, their families and civilian workers) and a reduction in crime in Ciudad Juarez, the sister city located just across the border. These forces have  combined to imbue El Paso with a unique, …

San Antonio is a testament to the old proverb that slow and steady wins the race. Instead of becoming overheated in response to the benefits of strong employment and population growth, the metro’s retail market continues to take a measured approach to growth. That approach has enabled an exceptional occupancy rate for its brick-and-mortar retail inventory. Development vs. Occupancy Measured, demand-based construction is one of the key reasons that San Antonio’s current retail market enjoys a near-record balance of supply and demand. Currently, the market’s overall occupancy is a healthy 94 percent. We expect this rate to be maintained as retail demand continues during a time of very limited construction of new retail product. The market’s limited retail construction of only 360,000 square feet this past year was dominated by H-E-B, which opened two new stores in 2017. The locations came on line either freestanding or with limited peripheral small-shop space, further tightening the market for available space. To illustrate exactly how low new construction is, we compared the current market to a decade ago, when the economy was in a similar cycle. The market’s occupancy at year-end 2007 was 91.2 percent, healthy but notably below the current 94 percent …

Among professionals in the major sectors of commercial real estate, retailers are often the first to spot, understand and respond to emerging trends in human behavior. Those trends have shifted dramatically the past few years, and retail real estate in Austin has certainly felt the ripple effects, from downtown to the suburbs and across the emerging “nodes” in between. For some time now, American consumers in general have been clearly indicating their preference for more “experiential” ways to shop or receive services. That said, smart developers know that the experience begins well before shoppers enter a retailer’s doors. And understanding how to best cater to emerging demands helps breed success, not only for tenants, but also for the project as a whole. The following three trends represent key ways in which consumer demand is driving change in Austin’s retail landscape and illustrate how the market is responding. Seamless Integration Consumers want retail options located within close proximity to where they work and live — all the better if the property housing these needs can be one and the same. Just as Austin has grown regionally, so has demand for retail space, giving rise to mixed-use projects throughout the city. In …