Category: News & Market Reports

Closer to Normalcy? Hotel Rooms are Filling up Faster

Posted on by Sarah

Getting ever closer to normal. That’s happening today in the hospitality industry according to the Midyear State of the Industry Report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

According to the report, hotel room revenue and state and local tax revenues are expected to exceed 2019 — or pre-pandemic — levels by the end of 2022.

The lodging association predicts that hotel room revenue will exceed $188 billion by the end of 2022. That is higher than 2019 figures on a nominal basis. But the news isn’t all good: When adjusted for inflation, revneue per available room (RevPAR) is not expected to surpass 2019 levels until 2025.

The association also said that hotels are expected to generate nearly $43.9 billion in state and local tax revenues this year, up almost 7% when compared to 2019.

The association’s midyear report largely showcases an industry in recovery mode following the COVID-19 pandemic. The report says, for example, that hotel occupancy is expected to average 63.4% in 2022, which is close to pre-pandemic levels. And by the end of this year, hotels are expected to employ 1.97 million people, 84% of their pre-pandemic workforce.

“After a tremendously difficult two-and-a-half years, things are steadily improving for the hotel industry and our employees,” said American Hotel & Lodging Association president and chief executive officer Chip Rogers.

The news isn’t all good, though. Hotels are still struggling to hire enough workers. In 2019, U.S. hotels employed more than 2.3 million people, according to Oxford Economics. That’s far more than the 1.97 million employees the lodging association says that U.S. hotels will employ by the end of this year. The hotel industry is not expected to reach its 2019 level of employment until at least 2024.

According to a May survey from the lodging association, 97% of hotels said they are experiencing a staffing shortage, with 49% saying that their shortage was a severe one.

Wayfinder Real Estate Completes Sale of Troubadour in Austin

Posted on by Sarah

Austin-based Wayfinder Real Estate has completed the sale of Troubadour, a 321-unit apartment community in Central Austin, to an affiliate of Austin-based Christopher Investment Co.

The sales price was not disclosed.

Located one mile north of downtown Austin at 3403 Harmon Ave., Troubadour has experienced unusually strong demand since pre-leasing started in January. When first move-ins began in April, 80 apartments — 25% of the units — were pre-leased. Since then, an average of 14 new residents have signed leases per week.

The community is expected to reach 93% occupancy and fully stabilize by the end of August.

The six-story project is the first community that Wayfinder has completed and sold since industry veterans Mac McElwrath and Chris Sipes founded the company in 2019.

Wayfinder will soon complete the 295-unit Waterview community in Richmond, Texas just west of Houston and has a 362-unit project named Veranda underway in East Austin that will offer a mix of apartments and townhomes. The company also has five multifamily communities in the design and development phase in the Austin metro area and one in the Houston area.

The transaction between Wayfinder and Christopher Investment Co. was conducted off-market.

Christopher owns several other multifamily communities in the Austin metro including The Catherine just south of downtown Austin and The Pearl in north central Austin.

Troubadour offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with 16 units reserved for residents making no more than 80 percent of Austin’s median family income.

Community amenities include an outdoor movie theater, a rooftop terrace overlooking the downtown Austin skyline and the University of Texas at Austin, a resort-style pool, and multiple courtyards. Locally renowned artist Chris Rogers produced custom murals located throughout the property.

Troubadour is the final multifamily community to be completed in University Park, the master planned redevelopment of the former 22-acre Concordia University campus between Interstate 35 and the Hancock neighborhood in Central Austin.

MetroNational Announces Quanex Building Products Corporation to Move Headquarters to 945 Bunker Hill

Posted on by Sarah

MetroNational announced that Quanex Building Products Corporation will move its Houston headquarters to 945 Bunker Hill Rd in Memorial City.

Quanex Building Products Corporation, a local industry-leading manufacturer of building products, recently signed a lease occupying a 16,545 square-foot space in the Class-A officing building. Brad MacDougall and Warren Alexander represented the landlord, MetroNational, and Andy Iversen, John Luck and Kaitlyn Duffie of Newmark represented the tenant, who will move in September 2023.

945 Bunker Hill is a 14-story, LEED Silver Class-A office building owned and managed by MetroNational. Memorial City office tenants have access to a roster of exclusive amenities, including membership to its fitness center, Memorial City Club; complimentary shuttle service; interconnected skywalks to dining, retail and entertainment attractions; discount programs; and regular office tenant events.

Colliers Mortgage Closes $17.7 Million HUD 213 Loan for Village Cooperative of Century Hills in North Richland Hills

Posted on by Sarah

The Minneapolis office of Colliers Mortgage closed a $17.7 million HUD 213 loan for the new construction financing of Village Cooperative of Century Hills in North Richland Hills, Texas. The 55-unit age-restricted cooperative is the first cooperative to close under the Section 213 program in the State of Texas.

Village Cooperative of Century Hills will bring a new home ownership option to the area for active adults (62+) to enjoy living in this vibrant community without the worries of maintenance, repairs, or repair bills. The homes will range in size from approximately 889–1,770 square feet on one level within a three-story building built over secure parking. Property features will include a community area with full kitchen, club room, fitness room, reading areas, shop/craft room, guest suite, garden plots, and underground temperature-controlled parking—all within a fully secure building.

The loan carries a 40-year term/amortization and was arranged for Village Cooperative of Century Hills.

Hartman Property Management Achieves World Class Ranking in Latest NPS Survey

Posted on by Sarah

August 5, 2022 (Houston, TX)—Hartman Income REIT Management, Inc. (Hartman), a commercial real estate operator of its portfolio owned by its affiliates, headquartered in Houston, Texas, announces its achievement and ranking as a World Class firm for its latest Net Promoter Score® (NPS) survey. The firm surpassed its previous score of 69.3 percent by charting a remarkable 71.2 percent for the third quarter of 2022.

“I cannot speak highly enough of our outstanding property management team whose hard work and dedication to their tenants are displayed through our results of the flawlessly executed survey. They genuinely care about their tenants, and this world class score undoubtedly establishes that truth!” shared Kelly Agent, Hartman’s Vice President of property management.

NPS is a market research tool used to measure the loyalty and satisfaction of a company’s customers. In turn, companies use the collected data to assess and improve customer service. Twice a year, Hartman’s property management team requests tenants to use the elective survey to rate their likelihood of recommending the company.

In July, Hartman’s property management team conducted the semiannual survey and received not only their highest score yet but with an improved response rate of 35 percent.

“Improving our score while also increasing the number of surveys taken is a record in and of itself.” shared Al Hartman, President and CEO. “Increasing the number of promoters and decreasing detractors while gathering the highest participation rate in our company history is a testament to the level of excellence on which our property managers operate on.”

Hartman’s world class score of 71.2 was achieved through the reception of perfect tenant ratings at 14 of its properties and ranks the firm 41 percentage points higher than the industry average. Other highlights include 80 percent of tenants identifying as promoters of the company.

The semiannual NPS survey is incredibly important to the firm as it helps Hartman’s property management team better understand its customers’ likes and dislikes, and also find areas for improvement. Within the survey, tenants are allowed to leave responses and feedback regarding their experience. Top feedback from

tenants included their appreciation for the team’s quick responsiveness to needs, availability to take phone calls, timeliness of regular check-ins, and friendliness when property management help was needed.

If you are looking to lease office, retail, or industrial space in Houston, Dallas or San Antonio, please contact a Hartman leasing agent for more information. A leasing representative can be reached by phone at 800-880-2212 or by email at leasing@hi-reit.com.