BIGGER HOUSES, SMALLER FAMILIES
WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – One in five American houses had at least four bedrooms in 2005, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
That is up from one in six in 1990, despite shrinking families and increasing costs for construction and energy. Nationally, the average household size has shrunk slightly since 1990 to about 2.6 people. Meanwhile, the average new house grew to 2,434 square feet, nearly a 400-square-foot increase.
Utah leads the nation with nearly 40 percent of homes having at least four bedrooms. Next are Maryland, Virginia, Colorado and Minnesota. At 12.6 percent, Arkansas had the smallest share. Texas came in at 18.9 percent, up from 11.9 percent in 2000.
For more information on the national trend toward extra-large houses, read the Tierra Grande article "McMansions."
TRADEPORT I RISING AT SUNRIDGE
WILMER (The Dallas Morning News) – Jones Development Co. and Industrial Works Investment Fund have hired contractor Cadence McShane Co. to build a speculative 520,000-square-foot warehouse near I-45.
I-45 Tradeport I, the first project in the 327-acre Sunridge Business Park, was designed by Gromatzky Dupree and Associates. It will open in January.
CONDOS COMING TO WEST TEXAS
EL PASO (El Paso Times) – Frank X. Spencer is one of several investors behind Pueblo Condominiums, the more than $4 million project being built on almost three acres at Yarbrough Drive near Pebble Hills Boulevard.
Pueblo Condominiums will have 40 two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 square feet. The first phase of construction, which consists of 22 units, is scheduled to wrap up in July. A second, 18-unit phase will follow in October.
The builder is Aztec Contractors.
NEW OWNER FOR HILL COUNTRY STORAGE
LAKEWAY (globest.com) – Equity Based Services Inc. of California has purchased the 742-unit Hill Country Climatized Storage from HKD Investments of Austin.
The 100,000-square-foot self-storage facility, built in 2004 on almost four acres at 15616 Stewart Rd., is 91 percent leased. Equity Based Services has renamed the facility Hill Country Self Storage.
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services represented both the buyer and seller.
CRESCENT SOLD
FORT WORTH (The Dallas Morning News) – Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. has been sold to funds managed by New York–based Morgan Stanley for about $6.5 billion.
Fort Worth–based Crescent owns parts of two of the biggest skyscrapers in downtown Dallas. The real estate investment trust is also part owner of the Crescent complex in Dallas' uptown section.
Crescent recently sold its Austin holdings, which included the Omni Hotel downtown and three office buildings.
The acquisition includes assumption of about $3.1 billion in debt, which will be refinanced.
VALLEY GETTING T-MOBILE SERVICE CENTER
BROWNSVILLE (Brownsville Economic Development Council) – T-Mobile USA Inc. broke ground yesterday on a 78,000-square-foot customer service center that is expected to bring more than 750 jobs and more than $15 million in payroll annually to the area.
The facility at Paredes Line Road and Heritage Boulevard is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
TEXAS ECONOMY STILL PUMPING
COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – The Texas economy continues to generate jobs at an annual rate of one percent above the national average. From April 2006 to April 2007, Texas nonfarm employment rose 2.4 percent compared with 1.4 for the U.S.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 5 percent in April 2006 to 4.2 percent in April 2007.
Higher oil prices cause pain for consumers at the gas pumps but produce employment gains for the oil and natural gas extraction industry petroplexes of Odessa and Midland. The state’s mining industry ranked first in job creation followed by professional and business services, construction, and the leisure and hospitality industry.
Odessa ranked first in job creation followed by Midland, Austin–Round Rock, Laredo and Lubbock. Three large metro areas — Austin–Round Rock, Dallas-Plano-Irving and Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown — posted employment growth rates of more than 3 percent.
Midland had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Austin–Round Rock.
For more information, see the full report.
NEW OWNER, NAME FOR CLASS-A CANYON CREEK
AUSTIN (globest.com) – American Realty Advisors has purchased the 444-unit Vistas at Canyon Creek from the Archstone-Smith Trust.
The 95 percent occupied, Class-A complex was built in 2001 on 31 acres at 8025 FM 620 North, near Lake Travis. The 22 two- and three-story buildings contain one-, two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 506 to 1,187 square feet. Monthly rents range from 77 cents to $1.13 per square foot.
The California-based investment group plans to rename the complex Alara Canyon Creek.
CB Richard Ellis represented Denver-based Archstone-Smith. American Realty Advisors was self-represented.
HOME PRICES DOWN, SALES UP
WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – Sales of new homes in the United States surged in April, but the median price of a new home dropped by the largest amount on record.
The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes jumped by 16.2 percent in April — the biggest amount since April 1993 — to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 981,000 units. Meanwhile, the median price of a new home sold last month fell to $229,100, a record 11.1 percent decline from the previous month.
The strong sales came from the Northeast, which saw a surge of 43.1 percent. Sales were down 28.1 percent in the Midwest and 25.4 percent in the West. Sales fell 3.4 percent in the South.
ASTROWORLD NEIGHBOR SOLD
HOUSTON (globest.com) – Angel-McIver LP has purchased the Interchange Business Park next door to the Six Flags AstroWorld site, which the local developer purchased a year ago. The seller was a German company operating as Interchange Center LP.
Angel-McIver obtained $15.4 million in financing to purchase and improve the 296,000-square-foot, Class-B complex at 8820-30 Interchange Dr. The eight-building center is 70 percent leased, with many of the tenants on short-term agreements.
The five-year, interest-only loan has a competitive spread over the five-year Treasury. The loan-to-value ratio is 80 percent.
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) brokered the real estate transaction. CBRE-Melody in Houston arranged the financing.
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