Houston’s vacancy rate increased marginally from 5.9% to 6.0% over the quarter as 263,800 SF of new product delivered. Construction activity remained steady between quarters and retail foot traffic picked up as COVID restrictions in the state of Texas eased. According to Emsi, a labor market data company, Houston’s MSA population grew by 500,885 over the last five years, now 7,172,693, and is projected to grow by 544,540 over the next five years. Total regional employment grew by 74,098 over the last five years, now at 3,350,731, and is projected to grown by 166,496 over the next five years. The top three industries in 20200 were restaurants and other eating places, education and hospitals, and general medical and surgical hospitals. Click to read more at www.coydavidson.com.

The Travis Central Appraisal District sent out 2021 notices of appraisal to Travis County property owners in April for a collective $323 billion of appraised value—a 12% increase in its appraisal roll since 2019, when TCAD last updated appraisals. The increase points to a highly active Austin housing market and rapid population growth, a TCAD representative said. “That’s being driven by substantial increases in the residential market. It’s a mixed increase in commercial sectors,” said Marya Crigler, TCAD Chief Appraiser, in a May 4 presentation to Travis County commissioners. While the values for some commercial properties have decreased over the past year—those associated with industries such as hospitality and retail—office buildings have shown moderate appreciation, Crigler said. The value of residential properties, however, has skyrocketed across the board as low housing inventory collided with heightened interest in single-family homes in Austin. From January 2020 to January 2021, the level of housing inventory in Travis County reduced from 1.6 months to 0.4 months. As of March, Austin-Round Rock area home prices had hit a median $425,000, an all-time high. Consequently, residential property owners will see higher appraisals, and will likely pay a larger share of the county’s taxes than in years past. Click to read more at www.communityimpact.com.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are publicly traded companies that allow individual investors to buy shares in real estate portfolios that receive income from a variety of properties. They allow investors to easily invest in the real estate sector, which includes companies that own, develop, and manage residential, commercial, and industrial properties. Among other requirements, REITs are required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends. A key REIT metric is funds from operations (FFO), a measure of earnings particular to the industry. Some big names within the sector include American Tower Corp. (AMT), Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI), and Prologis Inc. (PLD). Many commercial real estate companies that own office buildings and retail space have been badly hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn, both due to layoffs and many corporate employees working from home. However, the U.S. government’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, passed by Congress in March 2021 could fuel a rapid economic recovery, and along with it, a rebound in commercial real estate. REITs, as represented by the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE), have significantly underperformed the broader market. XLRE’s 69.2% total return over the past 12 months is well below the general market benchmark iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB), which has provided a total return of 132.4%, as of April 20.2 All statistics in the tables below are also as of April 20. Here are the top 3 REITs with the best value, the fastest growth, and the most momentum. Click to read more at www.investopedia.com.

The Covid-19 pandemic took the economy on a wild ride in 2020, and this is projected to persist well into 2021 as the gradual rollout of vaccinations continues across the U.S. The real estate market was also impacted with many operators having to adjust their business plans to fit a new reality. After a months-long slowdown in investment and development activity, real estate picked up in the latter half of the year, albeit with much of the deal-making and diligence being done remotely. Unsurprisingly, transaction activity has varied between different asset classes, as some (e.g., retail, hotel and office) have been more deeply impacted by the pandemic than others. For its part, the multifamily industry overall has continued to perform, and we’ve seen relatively little disruption in pricing or asset values on the whole based on the trades that are occurring. However, certain market and demographic themes have emerged during the pandemic that are influencing which assets are trading and where. In examining these trends, it appears that some are specific to the pandemic and are likely to revert once it’s passed, while others were emerging prior to the onset of Covid-19, which then only served to accelerate the changes. Here are some of the trends I believe will be temporary and others that are more permanent. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.