Category: Central/South Texas

Six Real Estate Trends To Know In Central Austin In 2019

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The median sale price of a single-family home in Austin was $407,400 in May—up 5.8% year over year, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. However, it is not just the residential housing market that is changing in the city. Here are six Central Austin trends to watch in 2019. Builders divide office space into separate classes: Class A is a premier space and Class B is more functional space. In East Austin, an increase in Class A square footage over the course of the last year has driven an increase in rent prices. Source: JLL/Community Impact Newspaper.

  1. Office rent prices on the rise in Austin as new buildings open on the East side According to reports from commercial real estate firm JLL, average rents asked by landlords for office space across the city of Austin are up to $45.22 per square foot in the first quarter of 2019, up from $37.85 per square foot at the same time last year. Click to read more at www.communityimpact.com.

Market Beat: Austin Industrial Q2 2019

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Economy: As the first half of 2019 came to a close, the Austin economy continued to perform as one of the strongest in the country. At 3.0%, the local unemployment rate remains near record lows as compared to the United States’ rate of 3.6%. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the city added approximately 19,000 jobs over the last 12 months. While the high-tech industry continues to be the significant driver of this explosive growth, a diversified and well-educated employment base has sustained the city’s economic stability.
Market Overview: The Austin industrial market remained healthy to close out the first quarter of 2019. Leasing activity kept up a strong pace throughout the city while vacancy rates remained relatively steady at 8.0% for all product types. Approximately 850,000 square feet (sf) of new industrial product was delivered during the quarter, including Heatherwilde45, which saw more 250,000 sf delivered in that project alone in the Northeast submarket. Absorption levels were tempered as some large move-outs contributed to the overall negative absorption figures. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Austin’s a “Brain Drain” City For Tech Talent — Is That Good or Bad?

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin is once again a top 10 city for having the most talented people working in the tech industry. In CBRE’s 2019 “Scoring Tech Talent” report, Austin beat out other Texas cities like Dallas-Forth Worth and Houston. “[Austin’s] the envy of just about every other tech city, not only in the United States but globally,” said Spencer Levy, Chairman of Americas Research & Senior Economic Adviser. Highlights from the report include: Total tech occupations went up by almost 3,000, from 69,610 in 2017 to 72,360 in 2018. The average office rent went from $34.99 in Q1 2018 to $37.62 in Q1 2019. Austin is poised to become one of the largest tech growth markets in the next five to 10 years. Levy told KXAN, “Talent, infrastructure and foreign money. The more you can get in all three of those things, the more you’re going to be able to attract and retain the talent in your market.” Click to read more at www.kxan.com.

Austin Developer Endeavor Raises $300 Million For Real Estate Investments

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Endeavor Real Estate Group, one of the most active developers in Central Texas, is on a money-raising roll. The Austin-based commercial real estate firm has raised nearly $160 million, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and has commitments from investors that would increase that total to more than $300 million. The funding would go toward future real estate investments. A June 25 filing with the SEC shows Endeavor raised $141.7 from 91 investors. A second securities filing showed that Endeavor raised $17.6 million in equity from 26 investors. Bryce Miller, an Endeavor co-founder, and managing principal said the filings do not reflect all of Endeavor commitments, which are more than $300 million. “The fund investors are private individuals for the most part, and a majority of them have invested in Endeavor projects in the past,” Miller said. “This real estate fund is not unique to Endeavor and is a commonly used vehicle for raising investment equity.′ Click to read more at www.statesman.com.

South Congress Avenue Sees Development, National Retail Move In

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Shortly after Home Slice Pizza opened on South Congress Avenue in November 2005, the power went out. The gas pizza ovens did not rely on electricity, so co-owners Terri Hannifin and Jen Strickland decided to stay open. They found enough flashlights to make sure the kitchen was safe and asked an employee to bring in a guitar. A customer who lived in the neighborhood ran home and brought back a bag of candles. Over the past 14 years, the development of the power grid is just one of many changes along the corridor, business owners said. Many local businesses—including antique store Uncommon Objects, which opened in 1991 and relocated in 2017—have been priced out due to sharply rising property values. Click to read more at www.communityimpact.com.

ART & HEART: San Antonio Property Offers Unique Development Potential

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River frontage. Incredible access. Dynamic area. Unlimited opportunity. It’s rare to find those attributes in a single property, but 530 Steves Ave. in San Antonio boasts all of them. “It is a ready-to-go development site that will
accommodate any number of uses, depending on what the developer wants to do,” says Steves Rosser, senior vice president at DH Realty Partners, the largest locally owned commercial real estate firm in the city. But, wait. Steves Rosser is representing a property on Steves Ave.? “It’s not my road, no, I don’t own it,” Rosser laughs. “I do have family ties that date well back in San Antonio’s history and that street is named for them. The Steves homestead can be found in the King William neighborhood. It was built by my great-great-grandparents and is now a living history museum.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.