Category: News & Market Reports

‘All-Out’ Race For Commercial Real Estate In North Texas Could Stay Just As Hot In 2022

Posted on by Sarah

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – No doubt the North Texas real estate market saw unprecedented interest in 2021.

Real estate experts say it wasn’t just residential properties catching the eyes of hopefuls, but commercial listings too.

Luis Pina, the owner of Accent Commercial Real Estate in Dallas, says investors and business owners looking to score commercial properties in North Texas were in an all-out race.

Pina said, “After March of this year, people just went to the streets and started buying everything they could find.”

So much, he says, that now there are very few available listings in the commercial real estate sector.

Pina adds that many businesspeople both local and from out of town are specifically interested in buying retail space like strip malls and warehouses. Click to read more at www.dfw.cbslocal.com.

A Big Year for CRE Investment in 2022? How About a Record Year?

Posted on by Sarah

CBRE is predicting a record-setting year for investment in commercial real estate in 2022, thanks to pent-up demand from the COVID-19 pandemic, major fiscal stimulus projects and a rebound of big cities and downtowns. That’s the good news in the company’s latest look at the state of the country’s commercial real estate market, the 2022 U.S. Real Estate Outlook.

How busy is 2022 expected to be? CBRE says that it expects to see a 4.6 percent gain in U.S. gross domestic product next year as businesses and real estate continue their recovery from COVID-19 and any government restrictions that have resulted from it. Investment volumes are expected to increase by 5 percent to 10 percent for the year as low-interest rates and a rebound of international travel fuel demand.

And in good news for big cities, CBRE predicts that downtowns will bounce back as international travel and society’s gradual return to the office boost demand for offices, stores, restaurants and apartments.

“Our outlook for U.S. commercial real estate next year is positive due to a number of tailwinds overriding deterrents such as inflation,” said Richard Barkham, CBRE’s Global Chief Economist and Head of Americas Research, in a statement. “COVID-19 flareups still pose a risk, but governments and health authorities appear to have made progress in containment and treatment. We see this rising tide further buoying the capital markets, multifamily and industrial and logistics sectors and aiding the burgeoning recoveries of the retail and office sectors.”

CBRE anticipates that federal policy measures such as spending on infrastructure and social programs will add momentum to economic growth. Meanwhile, inflation will moderate through 2022 so that it amounts to 2.2 percent across the full year. CBRE foresees the Federal Reserve starting to raise the Federal Funds Rate by the end of 2022.

And how will individual CRE sectors fare?

Capital Markets:

CBRE says that investment volumes should increase by 5 percent to 10 percent. Industrial and logistics and multifamily remain the darlings, but investment in office and retail will perk up for the right assets in the right markets. Capitalization rates will hold steady as strong demand for assets offsets eventual interest-rate increases.

Office and Occupier:

The office market will remain favorable for occupiers because of elevated vacancy rates. The gradual recovery of office demand and leasing activity will carry over into 2022, although the timing of the large-scale return to the office may be affected by the omicron variant. Employers will favor buildings with numerous amenities and collaboration space to appeal to employees. The life-sciences sector has emerged as a growth leader, with both lab rents and the construction pipeline at record highs.

Retail:

CBRE is predicting a solid year for retail in 2022, estimating 10-year highs for leasing and investment activity in U.S. retail real estate next year. Retailers will benefit from pent-up demand fueled by the personal savings that consumers built up during the pandemic. Investors will favor grocery-anchored centers, neighborhood centers, open-air centers and single-tenant, drive-through buildings.

Industrial and Logistics:

This sector should enjoy another banner year in 2022, propelled by e-commerce growth and retailers storing more inventory as a hedge against supply chain disruptions. High transportation costs should ease as congestion at U.S. ports and other supply chain links slowly resolves throughout 2022. Third-party logistics firms will benefit from increased outsourcing of logistics functions.

Multifamily:

CBRE sees U.S. multifamily occupancy remaining above 95 percent and net effective rents growing by 7 percent in 2022. Construction completions will hit a new high of more than 300,000 units, reining in performance of high-quality complexes. Occupancy in urban apartments continues to recover as the pandemic recedes.

Women are Underrepresented in CRE — Here’s How We Change It.

Posted on by Sarah

It may be 2021, but the gender gap is still alive and well, and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) is no exception. While 64% of all residential realtors are women, this glass ceiling-shattering statistic isn’t reflective of CRE, where only 36.7% of workers are female. This begs the question — what can be done to attract more women into CRE and keep them there?

But, before we can answer that question, let’s consider a few reasons why female talent has struggled to break into the CRE industry. Then we can talk about some creative ways firms can evolve to attract and retain more women:

Where Are The Women in CRE?

Make no mistake, there are some powerful women in the world of CRE that I look up to and admire for making an impact, shattering stereotypes, and
inspiring positive evolution within the field. That being said, we still have
a lot of work to do to balance the scales. Let’s examine some of the primary
driving forces behind the unimpressive gender gap that still exists:

  1. Like father, like son. The systemic nepotism entrenched within the CRE industry is clear as day and understandable: in a relationship-driven business, it’s not what you know but who you know. But when the CEO hires his COO’s nephew as an intern because of a favor-owed, it perpetuates the problem. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with working in the family business or returning a favor, issues arise when that’s the primary funnel for sourcing new talent. The result is a narrow, one-dimensional organization that has historically left highly qualified female candidates overlooked or encouraged into more gender-traditional career paths. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

TexAmericas Center Completes Construction on Spec Building

Posted on by Sarah

TexAmericas Center Completes Construction on 150,000-Square Foot Spec Building | New Building Represents Investment, Confidence in Economic Development Efforts

TEXARKANA, USA (Dec. 7, 2021) – TexAmericas Center (TAC) today announced the completion of a new and innovative speculative (spec) building at its campus in Texarkana.

The 150,000-square-foot building on 24 acres is the first new building in the industrial park in 15 years and is now ready for new tenants to occupy the space.

“This building is a driver of economic development and a new chapter for regional growth in our area,” said Scott Norton, Executive Director and CEO of TexAmericas Center. “Hard work and forward thinking bring us to the next chapter for TexAmericas Center and the entire region as a whole. Completing the spec building reflects growing momentum and our confidence in opportunities.”

TexAmericas Center leaders worked with other community economic development professionals to plan the building, which includes features that are attractive to potential tenants, is flexible across a variety of industries, and scalable to meet a host of needs. The building is designed as a multi-tenant, mixed-use facility with 32-foot clear height ceilings, one dock door per 5,000 square feet, and two drive-in doors. The building will accommodate uses like large warehousing inventory akin to what you would find in a large metro market with the capability to subdivide down to 13,000-square-foot units as needed.

“The spec building brings immediate value to the region while laying the foundation for continued growth in terms of business activity, job creation, innovation, and more,” Norton said.

Tenants that use the spec building can take advantage of the impressive transportation corridor that includes multiple state highways, interstates, air freight, and rail lines. Additionally, new companies have access to skilled workers from a wide range of schools in the Texarkana area.

“The potential is endless for tenants who utilize the spec building and the complementing resources in the Texarkana region,” said Eric Voyles, Executive Vice President and Chief Economic Development Officer with TexAmericas Center. “We developed this project with the future in mind. We are so excited to welcome new industries and new jobs to the region, as well as help our current tenants grow.”

The spec building is another major accomplishment in a series of successes for TexAmericas Center. Recently, the company was awarded an $864,550 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to construct new rail facilities and repair existing ones. The grant is expected to create more than 150 jobs and expand operations within the TexAmericas Center footprint.

Beyond robust rail and construction activity, TexAmericas Center’s remediation efforts also are proving its commitment to supporting businesses and inviting industries to the region. Earlier in 2021, TexAmericas Center successfully completed remediating 6,800 acres of land through the United States Army’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit. The comprehensive remediation efforts began in 2010 and required a lengthy process to ensure all standards and assurances were met correctly and completely. Now, the nearly 7,000 acres of shovel-ready land can be complemented by other attractive features, including the spec building.

TexAmericas Center is fulfilling its mission as a catalyst of economic investment in the Texarkana region. Since May 2014, it has increased its total leased square footage by more than 85 percent to more than 1 million square feet. Its 12,000 acres and 3.5 million square feet of space is fully entitled, providing potential tenants of specialized industries options that would be difficult or cost-prohibitive to secure in other regions. Its location in the Texarkana metropolitan area offers an attractive pipeline of talent and a logistics network to rival many larger – and therefore more expensive – urban hubs. Additionally, TexAmericas Center offers a complement of unique assets like industrial-grade utilities including fiber, rail, third-party logistics services, and a transload facility.

About TexAmericas Center

Located in the Texarkana metropolitan area, TexAmericas Center owns and operates one of the largest mixed-use industrial parks in the United States. With roughly 12,000 development-ready acres of land and approximately 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial product, TexAmericas Center services four states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas).

In 2021, TexAmericas Center was ranked as the No. 5 industrial park in the country by Business Facilities magazine. Tenants appreciate an impressive transportation corridor that uses multiple state highways, interstates, air freight, and rail lines to disperse from a central U.S. location. TexAmericas Center also offers third-party logistics (3PL) services to assist companies with inventory management, warehousing, and fulfillment needs.

It is a designated US Opportunity Zone, HUBZone, New Market Tax Credit Census Tract, Foreign Trade Zone #258, and a Texas Enterprise Zone. TexAmericas Center has the operating capabilities of a municipality but functions like a traditional real estate development company, offering customized real estate solutions. For more information about TexAmericas Center, visit texamericascenter.com.

Regions Bank Closes on its Acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners

Posted on by Sarah

Bimingham, Ala. (Business Wire) Regions Bank on Thursday announced it has completed its acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners, LLC, a diversified financial services firm that leverages an innovative, technology-driven origination and servicing platform to facilitate off-balance-sheet lending in the small balance commercial real estate market.

Our acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners further positions Regions’ Real Estate Capital Markets division to serve growing client base through an expanded range of high-value, in-demand services,” said Joel Stephens, head of Capital Markets for Regions Bank. “By welcoming Sabal into the regions family, we are further enhancing our agency multifamily and non-agency lending capabilities and accelerating our grown in an off-balance-sheet small balance commercial real estate lending. With Sabal’s strong reputation, leading-edge technology platform, and exceptional team, this acquisition serves as an opportunity for Regions to meet additional needs for our clients while reaching new clients through the additional services delivered by Sabal Capital Partners.” Click to read more at www.businesswire.com.

Dallas Fort-Worth Metroplex Posts Eleven Straight Years of Positive Net Industrial Absorption

Posted on by Sarah

The industrial real estate boom happening across the country is nothing new in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In fact, the industrial market has performed so well in the north Texas Metroplex that Q3 numbers in a new report from CBRE indicate that there have been 44 consecutive quarters — or eleven years straight — of positive net industrial absorption.

And with the current crunch on the country’s already stressed supply chain,
that monumental momentum isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. The
current vacancy rate in the Dallas industrial market? Just 4.6%.

Overall, 2021 has been a significant year for Dallas industrial. Year-to-date,
by the end of Q3, the region has witnessed nearly 30 million square feet of
absorption. In Q3 alone, there was 7.25 million square feet of absorption. Around 6.85 million square feet of industrial space was delivered in Q3 and another 31.3 million square feet of new industrial product was still under construction by the end of September.

And of the 31.3 million square feet of new space under construction by the end of the third quarter, nearly a third has already been pre-leased, the report details. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.