LONE STAR SPRAWL
NEW YORK (Forbes) – Twenty Texas cities sprawled onto Forbes’ latest “100 Fastest-Growing Suburbs” survey, the most of any state making the list.
Frisco, ranked 7th, grew at a galloping 128 percent while Wylie, ranked 8th, grew at just over 109 percent, according to Forbes.
Other Texas cities making the list were Cedar Park (11), McKinney (13), Rockwall (21), Sachse (22), Pflugerville (23), Corinth (30), Allen (33), Pearland (34), The Colony (47), Round Rock (49), Saginaw (50), Mansfield (54), Georgetown (55), Burleson (58), League City (65), Missouri City (78), Schertz (91) and Terrell (96).
The fastest growing suburb in the country was Lincoln, Calif., which grew last year by almost 237 percent.
SAAD'S PINPOINT PURCHASE
HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – Saad Development Corporation has purchased just over 25 acres in the 351-acre Houston Business Center.
CB Richard Ellis represented both Saad and seller PinPoint Commercial LP in the transaction.
WHEELER-DEALER
HOUSTON (Trammell Crow Company, CB Richard Ellis) – Foster Wheeler USA Corporation has leased the entire Energy Center 1 office building at 2020 Dairy Ashford.
Foster Wheeler will move all local operations to the under-construction 13-story, Class-A, 332,000-square-foot high-rise at the northeast corner of Eldridge Parkway and Katy Freeway.
The building is slated for completion in February 2008.
CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord, a joint venture between Trammell Crow Company and Principal Real Estate Investors. The tenant was represented by Jackson & Cooksey.
KHOSHBIN'S INDUSTRIAL PICKUP
HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – The Khoshbin Company, a California-based commercial real estate management and investment company, has purchased three industrial centers totaling more than 338,000 square feet in north Houston.
The centers include 11 buildings that are 83 percent occupied and have 58 tenants. Included in the portfolio were:
- Intercontinental Business Center at 16611 – 16651 W. Hardy (four buildings totaling more than 103,000 square feet on almost eight acres),
- Central Park North Business Center at 600 Kenrick (five buildings totaling more than 155,000 square feet on almost 11 acres), and
- North Freeway Business Center at 16745 – 16749 I-45 North (two buildings totaling more than 79,500 square feet on almost four acres).
CB Richard Ellis represented seller First Industrial Realty Trust.
THE EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AT 1800
SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Express-News) – A Dallas-based developer is planning about 200 apartments for the 1800 block of Broadway at Grayson Street.
The San Antonio Historic and Design Review Commission approved The Eighteen Hundred earlier this week, and developer Regent Communities Inc. expects to begin demolition work in November. The three-acre site is presently home to a Snow White Cleaners & Tailors and a vacant building that used to house Fox Photo.
The four-story, four-building complex, designed by James, Harwick + Partners Inc. of Dallas, will include apartments for three income levels, with the lowest starting at about $800 per month for a small one-bedroom.
VICKERY LANE FACILITY SOLD
HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – Corrections Corporation of America has purchased a 108,900-square-foot industrial and warehouse facility at 16038 Vickery Lane.
CB Richard Ellis represented seller World Houston Air Cargo Center Ltd.
TAR PODCAST GOES LIVE
AUSTIN (Texas Association of Realtors) – A biweekly audio podcast is now available to Texas Realtors.
“Texas Realtor Update, the Official Podcast of the Texas Association of Realtors,” will be hosted by Texas Realtor Editor Marty Kramer and include industry news, legal and regulatory information, technology tips, ethics information, and other topics of interest to Texas Realtors.
Texas Realtors can subscribe to the podcast online.
SECOND IN CLOSING COSTS
FLORIDA (bankrate.com) – For the second year in a row, Texas had the second-highest mortgage origination, title and closing costs, according to Bankrate.com's annual survey, which based closing costs on a $200,000 mortgage.
New York topped the list for the third time with an average cost of $3,830; Texas’ was $3,413. Mid-range states were Michigan and Minnesota at $2,694 and $2,692, respectively. Indiana was least expensive at $2,339 — about $1,074 less than Texas.
The next most expensive states were Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Hawaii. After Indiana, the least expensive states in which to buy a mortgage are Wyoming, Illinois, Nevada and North Carolina.
Fees vary from state to state because of differing taxes, customs and regulations.
The survey also found that states with the biggest populations tend to have the highest mortgage-related fees. The five most expensive states are among the seven most populous: New York is third in population, Texas is second, Florida is fourth, and Pennsylvania and Ohio are sixth and seventh.
SPRING ON THE WAY
AUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman) – Work begins Tuesday on the 42-story Spring condominium tower at Third and Bowie.
The building will have nearly 250 units. One-bedroom condos, at 575 square feet each, will start at $237,000, while the two-bedroom, two-bath units will range from $430,000 to $530,000.
The project is being developed by Robert Barnstone, Perry Lorenz, Larry Warshaw and Diana Zuniga with a design by Vancouver-based Rafii Architects.
Construction will wrap in 2009.
HOME SALES FALL IN BAYOU CITY
HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – According to figures from the Houston Association of Realtors, area home sales fell for the second month in a row and for the third month this year.
Single-family home sales fell 6.9 percent last month from a year ago, with almost all of the decline involving homes priced from $80,000 to $140,000. Sales of homes priced at $500,000 and higher were up 11.7 percent.
The median price for a single-family home rose in June to a record high of $160,000, an increase of 2.6 percent over last year.
Realtors sold 7,154 single-family homes last month through the Multiple Listing Service — 534 fewer than they did in the same month last year. About 15 percent of those were new homes. In fact, sales of new homes fell 19 percent in June from the same month last year, according to Metrostudy.
Including townhomes, condominiums and other properties, sales fell 8.4 percent during the month.
While pending sales were down 1.5 percent, 37,236 single-family properties were listed for sale last month, an 18.6 percent increase over June 2006 and the 12th month with a year-over-year increase.
THE TWO TOWERS
DALLAS (The Dallas Morning News) – Granite Properties and Gables Residential are spending $200 million on a two-tower high-rise complex on Akard Street.
The complex will consist of a 24-story residential tower with 296 apartments and a 20-story, 330,000-square-foot office building. About 17,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space will be available on the ground floor. A fitness center and swimming pool will be located between the two towers on top of the seven-level parking garage.
Architect Good Fulton & Farrell designed the development, which will break ground in January and open in 2009. Austin Commercial is the general contractor.
BIG D HOME SALES DIP
DALLAS (The Dallas Morning News) – Median home sales prices so far this year are down in 14 Dallas–Fort Worth residential areas, according to data from the North Texas Real Estate Information System.
Sales for existing homes in Westlake, Sunnyvale and Grapevine have dropped more than 20 percent this year, while sales in Coppell are off 35 percent from the first half of 2006.
Statistics show that much of the sales decline this year has been for homes priced at $190,000 or less.
The news is brighter in some areas. Take Lancaster, for example, where home sales were up 37 percent in the first six months of this year.
LAQUINTA PREPARATION UNDERWAY
LONGVIEW (Longview News-Journal) – Mark Patel is developing a three-story LaQuinta Inn at 908 East Hawkins Pkwy.
Locally based Johnson and Pace is doing the engineering work for the two-acre site.
FIRST BUYS TWO
HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – First Industrial Acquisitions Inc. has purchased two industrial and warehouse spaces from South by South Southwest HSO Limited Partnership and Wynnwood HSO Limited Partnership.
The firm bought about 90,500 square feet at 700–760 Industrial Blvd. in Sugar Land and almost 85,000 square feet at 7230–7260 Wynnwood in Houston.
CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.
SIX AMONG BEST PLACES TO LIVE
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com, Griffin Integrated Marketing) – Six Texas towns recently made CNN/Money’s list of 100 “Best Places to Live” in the United States.
Schertz ranked highest at 40th, while Hewitt was number 44, Keller was 50, Friendswood was 51, Mansfield was 83 and Grapevine was 97.
The 2007 list focused on small towns that have populations between 7,500 and 50,000 and that offer the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a sense of community.
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