Monday, April 23, 2012

Office space: Two Valley high rises increase occupancy


By Dave Hendricks, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

April 22--MCALLEN -- The Austin-based developer behind the Sam's Club on North10th Street bought the Wells Fargo building in Edinburg last month, doubling down on the Trenton Road corridor.
Cielo Realty Partners purchased the nearly 60,000-square-foot building in March, said Rob Gandy, managing partner at Cielo Realty. His firm quickly signed two major tenants, insurance company New York Life and managed care providerMolina Healthcare, bringing the building's lackluster 34 percent occupancy up to about 80 percent.
"We got a good feel of the Trenton-10th Street-McColl area," Gandy said. "We liked the demographics. We thought that there's definitely an opportunity to buy something at a good basis."
The three-story building, which sits two blocks away from the company's Valencia Marketplace development at the intersection of North 10th Street and Trenton Road, was a good fit, Gandy said, and growing traffic along Trenton makes the property a smart investment.
"I think that's only going to increase, so obviously we like Trenton," Gandy said.
For competitive reasons, Gandy declined to release the purchase price. In 2012, the Hidalgo County Appraisal District assessed the land and building at nearly $3.7 million, down from a high of nearly $6.2 million in 2008.
Occupancy also jumped at the 215,000-square-foot Neuhaus Tower after NAI Rio Grande Valley, a commercial real estate brokerage, began managing the property.
McAllen's tallest building has changed hands numerous times, going from McAllen State Bank to Texas State Bank to JPMorgan Chase and eventually an investment firm called Brookfield Asset Management. Occupancy had fallen to 40 percent, saidMike Blum, broker and managing partner at NAI RGV.
"So you had a series of ownership changes, and none of them had an interest in the building," Blum said, but improvements to the 33-year-old property and local management have gradually boosted occupancy to 68 percent.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

CNNMoney: 10 Fastest Growing Cities in America


Their allure: Mild weather, good job prospects and low costs

The recession has taken its toll on the housing market. But some areas of the U.S. continue to see growth as people move about in search of jobs and better living conditions. CNN Money reviewed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and found 10 cities that have experienced 30% or better population growth between 2000 and 2010.
  1. Charlotte, N.C. Population: 1,249,000, up 64.6% — The local chamber of commerce toldCNN that Charlotte is the “”second largest financial center in the nation, after New York,” home to big-money names like Citi Group (NYSE:C), Ally Financial, JPMorgan(NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).
  2.  Raleigh, N.C. population: 884,891, up 63.4% — Surrounded by Duke University, University of North Carolina and North Carolina State, Raleigh is a hot spot for scientists and technicians.
  3. Cape Coral, Fla. Population: 530,920, up 60.8% –For a city that didn’t have a resident until 1958, Cape Coral is making swift strides. Affordable home prices, good weather and beautiful beaches are attracting retirees in droves.
  4. Provo, Utah Population: 482,819, up 59% — Home to Brigham Young and Utah Valley universities, Provo offers employers a wellspring of young talent. Low crime and abundant natural beauty also draw retirees to the city.
  5. Austin, Texas  Population: 1,362,416, up 51.1% — Long known for its music scene, technology companies now find Austin a good place to recruit talent, thanks largely to the nearby University of Texas. Tech leaders like Facebook and LegalZoom have recently opened offices. Dell Computer (NASDAQ:DELL) also has a facility close by.
  6. Las Vegas, Nev. Population: 1,886,001, up 43.5% — Despite suffering serious setbacks during the mortgage crisis of the last few years, Las Vegas continues to grow. The city is attracting businesses beyond the casino industry, which now contributes less than half of city revenue.
  7. McAllen, Texas Population: 728,825, up 39.3% — Benefiting from cross-border commerce, McAllen’s economy has boomed over the last decade. General Electric (NYSE:GE), Nokia(NYSE:NOK) and Panasonic (NYSE:PC) have built facilities around the city, which lies close to factories across the border in Mexico...
For CNNMoney‘s complete coverage of the 10 fastest growing cities, click here.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Brownsville sees hike in sales tax receipts | sales, tax, february - Brownsville Herald

Sales tax receipts increased in many Rio Grande Valley cities in February, with Brownsville marking a 12 percent jump over the same period last year.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs on Wednesday released sales tax revenue to cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts, for sales made in February.
Brownsville received nearly $2.63 million, up about $290,000 from February 2011.
The city had a 2 percent increase from sales tax revenue in January 2012 compared with January 2011.
February figures for Harlingen showed an 18 percent jump over the same period last year. Harlingen received $251,688 more for February 2012 than the same month last year, for a 2012 total of nearly $1.66 million in sales tax receipts.
It was the fourth straight month in which Harlingen’s sales tax... 

Brownsville sees hike in sales tax receipts | sales, tax, february - Brownsville Herald

You're Invited! NAI Global's Economic Outlook Web Conference with Dr. Peter Linneman

Click HERE to Register for the Web Conference

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Monday, April 2, 2012

Hot Off the Press: 2012 Market Reports


(Center News : College Station-Bryan, 3/30/2012)

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – The Center's Market Reports have been fully updated for 2012 and can be downloaded for free.

Each of the 25 reports — one for each Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) — contains a wide range of MSA-specific data, including demographic, employment, multifamily, retail, hotel, office and development land.
The reports are among the Center's most popular publications. This year's editions were produced by Administrative Coordinator Edie Craig and students Kory Merten, Katie Barker, Taylor Fitzner and Cody Price.

Here are the real estate market reports for:



GlobeSt.com - ULI Survey Offers Optimistic Commercial Real Estate Forecast - Daily News Article

GlobeSt.com - ULI Survey Offers Optimistic Commercial Real Estate Forecast - Daily News Article