Category: News

Merit Commercial Real Estate Sees Room for Growth in San Antonio Office Market

Posted on by Sarah

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — On November 30, Merit Commercial Real Estate closed on the acquisition of University Park Tech Center I & II, a two-building office project containing approximately 200,000 square feet. Clarion Partners, a New York-based real estate investor was the seller. The acquisition represents Merit’s first substantial investment in the San Antonio office market.

“The San Antonio office market has remained exceptionally strong by comparison to other major cities”, noted Ryan Harrison, CEO of Merit Commercial Real Estate. “We saw strong demand for this type of building in the northwest submarket from the tenants we represent, which led us to this acquisition”, stated Mike Sawtelle, EVP tenant representation broker for Merit and long-time mover-and-shaker in the San Antonio office market.

Many Fortune 500 companies across the country had plans to bring their workforce back into the office this fall, only to postpone those plans. Now, major cities are seeing companies change strategies and implement a hybrid or fully remote style of working. In contrast, the majority of San Antonio companies have seen continued interest in returning to the workplace. Click to read more at www.inforney.com.

Bowman Expands Texas Operations Through Acquisition of Houston and San Antonio Based Terra Associates, Inc.

Posted on by Sarah

Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (the “Company” or “Bowman”) (NASDAQ: BWMN), today announced it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement for the acquisition of Terra Associates, Inc. (“Terra”). Closing is scheduled to occur on December 31, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Terra delivers civil design and engineering solutions to clients focused on traffic and transportation planning, water-wastewater solutions, landscape and irrigation systems, office and industrial facilities, and multi-family development. Under the continuing leadership of Vickie Henkel, Terra’s staff of 30+ professionals work from offices in Houston and San Antonio for both public and private sector clients. In connection with their water-wastewater practice, Terra serves in the role of District Engineer for several Texas-based Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs).

“Terra is a company with a forty-year heritage of serving eastern Texas,” said Gary Bowman, CEO of Bowman. “The leadership of Terra has surrounded themselves with a team of committed and energetic professionals who will all be great additions to Bowman. We have been intent on growing our Texas operations and this acquisition, following closely on the heels of our acquisition of 1519 Surveying, fortifies Bowman’s presence in the Lone Star state. Terra’s experience in commercial site work, transportation design and utility district services are highly complementary to our portfolio of services and align with our growth plans and evolving market demand. I am pleased to welcome everyone at Terra to Bowman and I am excited about the potential for our future together.”

“Choosing to join Bowman was an easy decision,” said Vickie Henkel, CEO of Terra. “Bowman’s approach to growth is very exciting to all of us at Terra. We’ve gotten to know the leadership at Bowman over the course of the acquisition process and we all feel very comfortable with the decision. Their commitment to helping our leadership and staff grow without changing the core of who we are is a big part of what makes us excited about this opportunity. The opportunity to be a part of an entrepreneurial public company is both exciting and energizing. We are all looking forward to the future as a Bowman company.” Click to read more at www.valdostadailytimes.com.

The Best Markets For Real Estate Investment In 2022

Posted on by Sarah

Right now we’re not in ordinary times. The covid pandemic still threatens economic recovery, work and living patterns may be permanently altered, and a surge in home prices has disrupted our notions of what a home could be worth or what an investment property should cost.

Despite these difficulties – or rather, because of them – here is our guide using data from Local Market Monitor, Inc. for where and how investors can achieve the best returns with the lowest risk in the coming year. We will identify markets where demand for rentals should be strong but also – because most investors want to stay local – will show how to maximize your return in any local market.

Let’s start with the basics, will there be more or less demand for rentals in the coming years, and what kinds of rentals? The pandemic has soured a lot of people on living in apartments in crowded cities, the recent jump in prices means a lot of them are trying to buy a home. On the other hand, there are still fewer jobs than before the pandemic, and fewer people who can afford a home. Last year household income fell in all income brackets but most for people with modest incomes. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

Amazon Plans to Hire 2,000 Workers for Austin Tech Hub, Plans Major Expansion

Posted on by Sarah

SAN ANTONIO – Amazon’s presence in the Austin tech world is about to grow by hundreds of employees and thousands of square feet.

The e-commerce giant on Tuesday announced that it will add more than 2,000 corporate and tech jobs in the Central Texas city over the next few years.

The company has also signed a lease for 330,000 square feet of office space at a new building at The Domain, according to a news release. That space is expected to open in 2024.

The additions will add to Amazon’s current footprint of 3,000 tech and corporate employees in Austin and three existing offices at The Domain.

The release states the new jobs will land in the departments of operations technology, Amazon Retail, Amazon Business and Amazon Web Services. Positions include senior data engineers, senior technical program managers, user experience designers and financial analysts.

“Our continued investment in Austin is a testament to the amazing talent and amenities that this city has to offer,” Doug Gray, site lead for Amazon’s Austin Tech Hub, said in the release. “With more than 3,000 jobs already created and more than 1,000 corporate and technology roles currently available, we’re looking forward to continue offering exciting career opportunities to local residents.” Click to read more at www.ksat.com.

Texas Recovers All Jobs Lost Due to Pandemic

Posted on by Sarah

AUSTIN – Texas added 75,100 nonfarm jobs in November, reaching nearly 13 million jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

With the jobs gained last month, the Texas economy has recovered all jobs lost because of the pandemic and is now 28,200 jobs above the February 2020 employment level of nearly 13 million.

It took Texas 19 months to recover lost jobs. The state’s labor force participation rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.

The state’s job growth was 0.6 percent last month, exceeding the Texas Real Estate Research Center’s forecasted growth rate of 0.4 percent.

The state’s labor market is recovering faster than the nation’s job market, which grew 0.1 percent over the month.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was 5.2 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from October and higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.

Amarillo had the lowest nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the state at 3.1 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission had the highest at 7.7 percent.

All employment sectors had seasonally adjusted job gains since November 2020. Mining and logging saw the largest annual growth in October at 17.4 percent, followed by professional and business services (11.3 percent) and leisure and hospitality (11.1 percent). Click to read more at www.recenter.tamu.edu.com.

Major Texas Retail Markets are Back to Pre-Pandemic Vacancy Levels

Posted on by Sarah

The pandemic hasn’t exactly been kind to retailers as residents across the nation were asked to stay home for months on end last spring and summer. However, despite the ongoing nature of the COVID pandemic, there are not only signs of life for Texas retail, but an indicator that the health of the retail market is strong. Recent reports from NAI Partners specifically look at the markets in Austin, San Antonio and Houston, and offer compelling evidence of a return to normalcy.

Perhaps the biggest story in Texas retail at the moment is the success of the San Antonio market. According to the NAI Partners report, San Antonio retail rents have actually reached a new all-time high. Inflation concerns aside, the average triple net lease asking rent has risen by nearly a dollar from $16.08 in October 2020 to $17.06 this October. Vacancy and availability is also down in San Antonio. The current vacancy is just 5.2% while the availability rate is just under 7%.

The report also notes that this October was the first time in three years that the amount of net absorption was higher than the volume of deliveries between January and October, suggesting that demand is beginning to outpace supply. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.