North Texas housing market turns up the heat

DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal) – Dallas-Fort Worth's housing market ranks fourth among the 50 largest U.S. metros and 11^th among all 212 U.S. metros, according to Bankrate's Housing Heat Index.

DFW ranked third in job growth and sixth in population growth for the largest markets.

Overall, though, DFW ranked eighth in job growth, 37th in population growth, 41st in home price appreciation, 138th in unemployment, 126th in active listings, and 66th in number of days homes are on the market. 

Meanwhile, San Antonio ranked 43rd overall, while Houston came in 52nd and Austin 144th.

Texas has 'roared back' from COVID job losses

COLLEGE STATION (Texas Real Estate Research Center) – A couple of years ago, it was hard to imagine Texas recovering from substantial COVID-related job losses. However, a Texas Real Estate Research Center (TRERC) research economist says data show the state's job numbers have "roared back."

TRERC's Dr. Adam Perdue said Texas employment has more than recovered relative to the 2016-19 trend line for the last few months, even outperforming the U.S. (Figure 1).

He said Austin and DFW have contributed significantly to this outsized performance, while San Antonio and, especially, Houston have lagged (Figure 2).

"This complete return to the former trend line is unusual," Perdue said. "We've surpassed levels we would have forecast even if COVID had never happened." 

484K-sf industrial project in the works in southeast Houston

HOUSTON (REBUSINESS) – GTIS Partners of New York will develop a 484,000-sf industrial project on the city's southeast side.

The development will consist of a 355,017-sf, cross-dock building and a 128,999-sf, rear-load building on a 26-acre site. The buildings will have 36- and 32-ft clear heights, respectively, and combined parking for 382 cars and 92 trailers.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter. Completion is slated for summer 2024.

Powers Brown Architecture and Langan Engineering are also on the project team.

• 17K-sf of new Houston data center space coming online this summer

• Centro energized with 69K-sf office lease (Austin)

• Amazon-leased warehouse delivers to California-based investor (Dallas)

• Longview's Hotel Wingate sold

• Leonard making big waves with water treatment plant expansion

NewsTalk Texas is updated each weekday, throughout the day. 

Abilene tire plant sets wheels in motion for big expansion

ABILENE (Develop Abilene) – Bridgestone Bandag, a retread tire plant, is adding 50,000 sf to its 200,000-sf facility. The expansion will cost $60 million.

Over the next decade, the project is estimated to add $21 million in taxes to the city, county, and school district. It will allow for 25 additional jobs in the company. 

Bridgestone Bandag has been in Abilene for 52 years.

Texas A&M expansion approved for Fort Worth campus

FORT WORTH (Fort Worth Business Press) – Texas A&M is about to break ground on the anchor building of its new downtown campus.

The $150 million project has been approved and will begin construction in June. The eight-story building will replace the current Law and Education building. Construction will finish in 2025.

Two more buildings are planned for the campus. 

The Gateway Building will have classroom and meeting space and a conference center. 

The Research and Innovation Building will house public and private research and development initiatives in engineering, defense, agriculture, telecommunications, health sciences, and technology.

The architect, Stantec, will work with Pelli Clarke & Partners.

Tech sector woes put pressure on major office markets

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (CommercialEdge) – CommercialEdge’s May U.S. office report examines current market conditions, including the challenges fueled by weak demand and rising vacancies, particularly in tech-driven cities. 

As one of the growing tech hubs in recent years, Austin is also feeling the effects of the tech pullback: The metro's vacancy rate increased 5.9 percent year-over-year (YOY) in April, reaching 22 percent. 

Key findings from the report:   

• Austin led the nation in development on a percentage-of-stock basis, with underway projects representing 6.7 percent of its existing inventory.

• Miami still led the South in terms of prices, with asking rents coming in at $46.60/sf. 

• Washington, D.C. and Houston led the South in sales volume, with $509M and $466M in closed office deals, respectively. 

• The average U.S. office listing rate stood at $38.23/sf, rising 2.3 percent YOY. 

• Up 100 basis points YOY, the national vacancy rate was 16.7 percent.   

• Under-construction office space reached 118.2M sf nationwide, accounting for 1.8 percent of the total stock.

Texarkana ninth best ROI potential for investors

AUSTIN (Agent Advice) – Real estate experts at Agent Advice analyzed home value and typical rent prices across U.S. cities to establish where investors can currently expect the highest return on investment (ROI).

Straddling the border of Texas and Arkansas, Texarkana took the No. 9 spot. Texarkana's typical property value of $148,518 is 47 percent of the national average value. An average asking rent price of $1,212 equals 0.82 percent of property value, 55 percent more than the national average proportion. This makes for a potential down payment payback period for a typical investment property (20 percent down payment) just over two years and 38 percent shorter than the national average period.

Others in the top ten are: Houma (LA), Dotham (AL), Johnstown (PA), Beckley (WV), Decatur (IL), Shreveport (LA), Peoria (IL), Sumter (SC), and Jackson (TN).