Walker & Dunlop, Inc. closed over $820 million in sales and financings across Central Texas between January and August 2025. This underscores the region’s resurgence of demographic and economic growth.

Since the start of 2025, Walker & Dunlop Investment Sales has arranged over $320 million in conventional property and land sales, while the company’s Capital Markets team has arranged $500 million in acquisition financing, refinancing, and equity capitalization transactions across conventional and affordable properties.

“This performance underscores Walker & Dunlop’s ability to connect buyers and sellers, place capital, and execute in a complex market,” said Matt Pohl, managing director of Investment Sales at Walker & Dunlop.  “Our integrated platform has helped clients move quickly on opportunities as the market pivots from an interest rate focus to fundamentals-based underwriting. Capital is returning to core growth markets like Austin and San Antonio as investors meet an entry point defined by tightening supply, strong absorption, and forward rent growth. The development pipeline has dropped to lows not seen in this market in decades, and absorption stats continue to set records. Market sentiment has shifted, and we are poised to pair investors with investment opportunities supported by Central Texas’ job and population growth.”

As of mid-2025, Central Texas is showing clear signs of stabilization and a shift toward balance. Property sales and financing volume is climbing, even in a volatile interest rate environment, fueled by rising capital demand and renewed lender activity in the multifamily sector.

Patrick Short, senior director of Capital Markets at Walker & Dunlop added, “Lenders are leaning into Central Texas with renewed conviction, taking a more disciplined approach to underwriting and competing aggressively for high-quality deals in Austin and San Antonio—growth markets supported by significant outside investment and institutional sponsorship,”

While cost relief has been seen in certain sectors, developers are still not seeing the relief some had hoped for which has caused challenges for new development in Central Texas to persist. This has proven an opportunity to purchase new construction class-A product well below replacement cost. While underwriting remains a challenge in today’s environment, the accelerating demand for multifamily paired with the attractive basis opportunities in the market have pushed buyer underwriting in anticipation of the growth to come.

Key factors fueling this sector include:

• Continued expansion from firms like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia is fueling demand for both talent and office space across Central Texas.
• Mega-projects like Samsung’s $45B Taylor fabrication facility and the EV supply chain are driving long-term job growth and industrial absorption.
• Billions in upgrades to highways, transit, and airports are unlocking new submarkets and enhancing regional connectivity.
• Rising median household incomes, paired with lower unemployment rates.

The worst monthly rent performance in a September in more than a decade? That’s what Yardi Matrix reported in its most recent multifamily research report.

According to Yardi Matrix’s September Multifamily National Report, the average advertised apartment rent in the United States fell $6 to $1,750 a month in September. At the same time, year-over-year multifamily rent growth fell 30 basis points to just 0.6%.

That drop of $6 might not seem like much. But the fall in advertised rents represented the worst September showing in more than a decade. The U.S. multifamily market hasn’t seen a decline in average asking rents this large in a September since 2009.

Yardi Matrix said that in markets with too much new multifamily supply, building owners are offering concessions or cutting advertised rents to attract tenants.

That said, U.S. multifamily monthly rents are still close to all-time highs. Because of this, Yardi Matrix said that it is too soon to say that the September decline is part of a trend.

And it’s not just multifamily rents that fell in September. Yardi Matrix reported that single-family build-to-rent advertised rates fell during the month, too. The average build-to-rent advertised monthly rent dropped by $15 in September to $2,194, while the year-over-year growth rate fell 60 basis points to a flat 0.0%.

A key factor for the multifamily market’s rental fall? Yardi Matrix said that more than 525,000 apartment units are in the lease-up phase across the country. That intensifies competition among properties. Markets with the weakest rent growth are often those with the deepest pipeline of units in the lease-up phase.

An example is Dallas, which has 35,000 apartment units in lease-up, representing 3.8% of its multifamily stock. Phoenix has 22,000 units in lease-up, equal to 5.9% of its multifamily stock, while Austin, Texas, has 18,000 units in lease-up, which is 5.5% of its multifamily stock.

Some Midwest markets are bucking the trend of falling apartment rents, though. Yardi Matrix said that Chicago’s average asking apartment rent rose 3.9% in September on a year-over-year basis while that figure stood at a healthy 3.4% in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.

Rent growth, though, remained negative in Austin, Texas, where the average advertised monthly rent fell 4% this September when compared to the same month a year ago, and in Dallas, where the advertised rent dropped 1.9% this September compared to the same month in 2024.

The national occupancy rate fell slightly to 94.7% in August, but was unchanged year-over-year, according to Yardi Matrix’s report. The Twin Cities market posted one of the largest increases in occupancy rates with a jump of 0.6% in August.

Short-term rental trends were less positive for some Midwest markets. In Detroit, the monthly advertised asking rent fell 0.4% from August to September. In Chicago and Columbus, advertised monthly rents fell 0.5% in September when compared to August.

Year-over-year rent growths were solid in many Midwest markets, though. In the Cleveland-Akron area, monthly advertised rents jumped 3.2% this September when compared to a year earlier. That figure stood at 3.1% for Cincinnati, 2.1% for St. Louis, 2% for Milwaukee and 1% for Louisville.

 JLL Capital Markets arranged the refinancing for The Albright, a brand-new 261-unit luxury apartment community in Austin, Texas.

JLL represented the borrower, ParkProperty Capital, to secure a floating-rate loan through ACRE.

The Albright represents one of Austin’s newest and highest-quality apartment communities, having been delivered in 2024. The five-story mid-rise property features 261 meticulously designed units with an average size of 876 square feet, comprising studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom layouts. Units showcase premium finishes including granite countertops, designer ceramic tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, wood-style plank flooring, nine-foot ceilings, smart locks and light switches and walk-in closets.

The community offers resort-style amenities, including a resort-style pool, 24-hour fitness center, co-working spaces, gaming area with pool table, rooftop sky deck with views overlooking Austin, outdoor entertainment area with grill and kitchen, enclosed pet park, pet wash station, bike room, package room and parking garage.

Located at 8528 Burnet Rd. in Austin’s rapidly growing North Central submarket, the property provides residents with unparalleled connectivity to Austin’s major economic and entertainment hubs. The property sits at the convergence of multiple major thoroughfares, with MoPac Expressway just three minutes away, US-290 seven minutes away, I-35 eight minutes away and US-183 three minutes away. This strategic positioning places residents within easy reach of downtown Austin, the University of Texas campus and the Texas State Capitol, all located six to seven miles south.

The property benefits from its proximity to The Domain, Austin’s premier mixed-use development located just two miles away. Often referred to as Austin’s second downtown, The Domain encompasses 1.8 million square feet of high-end retail space and serves as a major employment center housing corporate offices for technology giants, including Meta, Indeed, Amazon, Expedia, IBM and Charles Schwab.

The JLL Capital Markets team was led by Elliott Throne, Josh Odessky and Jayme Nelson.

GTIS Partners LP acquired a 26-acre industrial site in the Great Southwest submarket in the Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, MSA. GTIS will develop in-house an approximately 442,000-square-foot Class-A cross dock facility that can be demised to provide leasing flexibility to prospective tenants.

The development, also known as Remington 30, is centrally located in the GSW industrial submarket, one of the oldest submarkets in the metroplex with limited land available for new construction given its age and the presence of wetlands. Remington 30 sits south of the Dallas Fort Worth Airport and provides quick access to I-30, a primary east/west thoroughfare connecting Dallas and Fort Worth, and President George Bush Turnpike (PGBT) Toll Road, a major north/south artery that provides access to the northeast residential markets as well as other major arteries such as I-20. 

High-quality tenants including FedEx, Pepsi Co, Office Depot, Penske, and GE Appliances are located nearby Remington 30 as, amongst other drivers, its location provides access to the strong Dallas Fort Worth labor pool.

Remington 30 will target the bulk segment (defined as 250,000-500,000 SF) of the industrial market, where demand for newer product remains strong in GSW. The eight bulk buildings in the GSW submarket that delivered between 2018-2023, representing 2.8 million SF, have 0% vacancy. The bulk product segment has outperformed the submarket with positive net absorption over the last 12 months.

Brennan Investment Group acquired a more than 1.29-million-square-foot industrial portfolio of 16 buildings in Northwest Houston currently owned by Innovex, a global leader in subsea oil and gas equipment manufacturing.

Located within a master-planned business park, the campus’ 16 buildings have unit sizes ranging from 11,000 to 450,000 square feet across 126 contiguous acres.

Constructed between 1999 and 2018, the buildings were designed for manufacturing operations, offering HVAC-equipped warehouses, bridge cranes, heavy power, IOS yards, above-standard clear heights, and wide column spacing to accommodate diverse industrial requirements.

The site offers exceptional connectivity across the greater Houston region. Surrounded by a robust and growing population and a dense industrial ecosystem—more than 780 manufacturing businesses are within a five-mile radius—the location provides immediate access to a growing labor pool and a constrained supply of heavy industrial space.

This transaction is representative of Brennan’s strategic focus on acquiring functional industrial assets in key U.S. markets, primarily from corporate owner-users, and enhancing them through targeted capital improvements to attract a diversified tenant base and generate long-term value creation.

Tax deferral is one of the most powerful strategies for real estate investors, but not all provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) work the same way.

Two sections in particular, Section 1031 and Section 1033, are often confused. Both allow you to defer capital gains, but their circumstances and requirements differ dramatically. Knowing which section applies can mean the difference between a smooth deferral and a costly tax bill.

Section 1031
Most investors are familiar with Section 1031, the like-kind exchange provision. It applies when you voluntarily sell a business-use or investment property and reinvest the proceeds into another like-kind real property. To qualify:

• The transaction must be voluntary, meaning you chose to sell.
• An accommodator, such as a Qualified Intermediary (QI), must hold the sale proceeds. You cannot take possession of the funds.
• You have strict deadlines: 45 days to identify replacement property and 180 days to complete the purchase.
• Replacement property must be real estate held for business or investment purposes.

Think of Section 1031 as a structured strategy. It is elective, precise, and heavily dependent on compliance with timelines and procedures.

Section 1033
Section 1033 applies in very different situations. Known as the “involuntary conversion” provision, it covers dispositions of property that is taken, sold under threat, or destroyed without your consent. Examples include condemnation by a city for a public project, seizure through eminent domain, theft, or destruction in a fire, flood, or natural disaster.

Key points about 1033:

• The transaction is somewhat involuntary, meaning you may not wish to sell, but due to outside events or forces, you are compelled to sell.
• An accommodator is not required; you may receive proceeds directly and still qualify if you reinvest properly by acquiring a suitable replacement property.
• The timelines are longer and more flexible: generally, two years to reinvest, though some real property condemnations allow three years, and federally declared disaster areas may permit even longer.
• The general rule is that replacement property must be “similar or related in service or use,” which can be a stricter test than the “like-kind” standard under 1031.

Think of Section 1033 as a safety net. It recognizes that you did not choose to dispose of your property and provides more time, but it also imposes tighter rules on what qualifies as replacement property.

An exception to the “similar or related in service or use” of 1033

If you lose your property through theft, or in a storm or natural disaster, and receive an insurance payout, the rules require the replacement property to be the same or very similar to the lost property.

Interestingly, if you have commercial real estate property (not inventory) that is disposed of through government seizure (or threat thereof), eminent domain, or condemnation, an exception to the rule reverts to the more flexible “like-kind” standard that is used under Section 1031.

Key differences between 1031 and 1033

Investors often blur the line between 1031 and 1033, but the distinctions matter:

• Voluntary vs. Involuntary: 1031 is elective, 1033 is imposed by outside forces.
• Identification and Timing: 1031 requires 45-day and 180-day deadlines; 1033 timelines are not as clear; generally, two years from the last day of the year in which the disposition event occurred, and sometimes the timelines extend even longer under certain conditions, like condemnation.
• Role of an accommodator or Qualified Intermediary: Mandatory in 1031, not required in 1033.
• Replacement Property Rules: “Like-kind” under 1031 versus “similar or related in service or use” under 1033, unless it is condemned commercial real estate that is eligible for the more preferential “like-kind” standard.
• Proceeds: An investor cannot touch the funds under 1031. Under 1033, you can hold your own proceeds, but you must acquire a qualifying property of equal or greater value to defer taxable gain.

Real-world examples

• If you voluntarily sell a rental duplex to another investor, and you purchase a fourplex, then 1031 may apply with the facilitation of a Qualified Intermediary.
• If the city condemns your warehouse to make way for a highway expansion, then 1033 may apply if you acquire replacement property of equivalent value within three years.
• If you swap raw land for a retail mall, then 1031 may apply.
• If a fire destroys your bowling alley property and insurance pays out a claim, then 1033 may apply if you use those insurance proceeds to purchase a property of similar or related use. . .such as another bowling alley.

Why it matters for investors

Misclassifying your situation can lead to missed deadlines, improper handling of funds, or unnecessary tax exposure. If you assume 1031 applies when your property was condemned, you might follow timelines that are unnecessary. On the other hand, if you treat a voluntary sale as 1033, you could end up with a taxable event you were not expecting.

Final takeaway

Section 1031 and Section 1033 are both powerful tax deferral tools, but they are not identical. Understanding the main difference, voluntary exchange versus involuntary conversion, is essential. Work closely with a Qualified Intermediary or tax advisor early in the process to confirm which section applies. That step can safeguard your equity, protect your tax deferral, and keep your investment strategy firmly on track.

Jeff Peterson is a Minnesota attorney and former adjunct professor of tax law. He serves as President of Minneapolis-based Commercial Partners Exchange Company, LLC, where he facilitates forward, reverse, and build-to-suit 1031 exchanges nationwide. Jeff regularly collaborates with attorneys, accountants, and real estate professionals on exchange strategies. Reach him at 612-643-1031 or JeffP@CPEC1031.com or on the web at www.cpec1031.com.