Tops in Texas: What to Watch for in the State’s Industrial Markets

Even to those who’ve worked in the industrial real estate market for decades, the figures generated over the past year are staggering. “It’s as red-hot and active as I’ve seen it in my career,” says Reid Goetz, Senior Vice President at Hillwood. “That’s both on the demand side and the construction and capital market side.”

Goetz is responsible for the industrial development and leasing within AllianceTexas, a 27,000-acre, master-planned and mixed-use development in North Texas that produced 53 million square feet of commercial development to date. “We have land holdings that will allow us to develop another 36 million square feet of industrial,” Goetz shares.

Since AllianceTexas got its start more than 30 years ago, it had a leg up on some of the new developments hoping to capitalize on the industrial boom, many of which are now running into supply chain issues with materials, including steel. Click to read more at www.rednews.com. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Partners Real Estate Company Announces New Director-Level Hire

Partners Real Estate Company—the holding company of NAI Partners, Partners Capital, and Partners Development—has announced that Brett Chiles, a veteran private equity professional, has joined Partners Development as a Director. Mr. Chiles will be responsible for growing capital and sourcing debt for Partners Development’s ground-up retail and other development and investment opportunities. In addition, he will be responsible for other aspects of development projects including legal, entity organization, project management and other activities. Mr. Chiles has over two decades of experience in the investment space, and comes to Partners Real Estate Company from KA Investments, a Houston-based private equity firm where he was a Principal. Prior to that, he spent time at Equus Total Return, Inc., and Murphree Venture Partners. Mr. Chiles has an MBA from Rice University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Texas Christian University.

CCIM Office Sector Luncheon—Demand, Density and Flex Space: Systemic Change or Return to Yesterday?

Keynote Speaker: Dr. James Gaines, Chief Economist, Texas A&M University, Real Estate Center

February 2020, was the peak of the 128-month-long prior recovery; then we fell sharply into recession
• Down 31% in Q2 and down 25-30% in Q3 (est.)
• Since March nationwide, 63 million have filed for unemployment—about 38% of the workforce; in Texas, 6 million; Texas lost 1.4 million jobs in March-April alone; lost jobs have now recovered by about one-half; Houston has retained 92% of pre-COVID jobs
• Texas has had a ‘double whammy’: oil and COVID…energy demand is down and will stay there for a while, although price at $40 bbl seems to have stabilized
• Our federal deficit will hit $4 trillion this year, and the Fed has had to borrow $3 trillion of it; in 2-5 years there will be a huge debt overhang
• 3.4 million mortgages—7% of total-are in forbearance arrangements, but those arrangements may expire in early 2021
• For recovery, we must: a) get virus under control b) increase consumer demand and spending c) re-employ people d) stabilize/improve global trade
• We have no inflation and stable (low) interest rates at or lower than 3%
• Texas is a little better off than rest of the U.S., and it should be early 2022 before we approach under 5% unemployment
• Home sales are up 3.5%, and prices up 5-6%; there is an inventory shortage of single-family homes; new home construction is up and could be one of major drivers pulling us out of current slump

South Central Texas Post-COVID-19 Forecast

Office

Office in San Antonio “Ok” and not sliding too much; 15% vacancy citywide, with average rents $21.85 down from $22.50 this time last year; robust development market; tenants beginning to return to offices

Some landlords working with tenants on short-term renewals to build tenant goodwill, and to retain them.

The hybrid work from home and office model is here to stay, although the productivity metric for this formula is not fully known yet.

Company culture is “at the office” and it is especially important to for new hires to interact with peers and senior employees as they learn and absorb the company culture.

When pandemic recedes, we will be quick to return to old habits and dense environments, office and social; in 18-24 months we will be back to normal here

8% unemployment in S.A.

Columbus Office of Marcus & Millichap Sells 95,000-Square-Foot Self-Storage Facility in Texas

The Columbus, Ohio, office of Marcus & Millichap closed the sale of Advantage Storage, a 95,825-square-foot self-storage facility located in Arlington, Texas. Brett Hatcher and Gabriel Coe, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Columbus office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller. Tim Speck, Division Manager and Broker of Record, assisted in closing this transaction. Advantage Storage is located at 1040 West Sublett Road in Arlington. It is a new, class-A facility that features 469 climate-controlled units, 302 non-climate units and four warehouse spaces, totaling 95,825 net rentable square feet.

Bellomy & Co. Brokers Sale of Self-Storage Facility in Rosenberg, Texas

Bellomy & Co. announced the sale of Texas Storage in Rosenberg, Texas, 37 miles southwest of Houston. The Class B property comprises 335 units in 44,718 square feet. Bill Bellomy and Michael Johnson of Bellomy & Co. represented Diehl Investments II LP, the Katy, Texas-based seller. The team also procured the Delaware-based buyer, BCORE Storage Jennetta LP