Dallas apartment rents hit all-time high
Landlords are getting higher returns as demand for apartments rise in Dallas. Construction on new apartment complexes hasn’t kept up with the demand, the Dallas Morning News reported. The average apartment rent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reached an all-time high of $711 a month during the third quarter, with rents up as much as 7 to 8 percent in some areas in the past year.
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Austin
Commercial
The Austin office market has reached its highest occupancy and rent levels since 2001. The market recently reached an occupancy level of 86.6 percent, the Austin Business Journal reported. According to a report by Colliers Oxford Commercial, office rents increased $1.35 a square foot in the past year to $21.62 a square foot in the third quarter. Brokers say the demand is coming from the southwest submarket, where prices increased almost $2 in the past quarter to $35.17 a square foot.
Boston
Commercial
The iconic Hancock Tower recently hit the market, the Boston Herald reported. Brokers say the tower will most likely sell for $1.5 billion as part of a larger package of properties being sold by owner Beacon Capital Partners.
Residential
An early October auction for 31 unsold units in the 96-unit FolioBoston condo project in the city’s Financial District tested the softness of the Boston housing market. Ten condos sold for as low as 21 percent below the asking prices of $1.16 million to $1.76 million, the Boston Globe reported. In the second quarter of 2006, the median price for downtown Boston condos declined 4 percent year over year to $454,500.
Chicago
Commercial
Four straight quarters of positive absorption and decreasing vacancy rates have turned the downtown Chicago office market around, Commercial Property News reported. The city’s office market had wallowed in negative absorption and higher vacancy rates since the recession at the start of the decade. The market’s vacancy rate is down to 17.1 percent from 19.3 percent in the third quarter of 2005.
Commercial
Industrial leasing in Chicago is at an all-time high. More than 12.2 million square feet was leased during the second quarter in the city, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. The majority of the largest leases were signed in speculative buildings. The industrial vacancy rate declined to 8.85 percent during the second quarter, compared to 9.32 percent during the first quarter and 9.27 percent in the second quarter of 2005.
Dallas
Commercial
The Dallas office market is expected to reflect its strongest performance in six years in 2006. Relocating and expanding tenants are responsible for the absorption of 572,000 square feet in the third quarter, the Dallas Morning News reported. According to analysts, net leasing is down, but there was still enough demand to lease 3.7 million square feet since the beginning of 2006. Total office vacancy in Dallas was reported at 20 percent — the best the area has seen in years.
Las Vegas
Commercial
With low Las Vegas office vacancy rates, it’s becoming tough for candidates to find space for their campaign offices. Brokers and landlords aren’t always too eager to rent space to somebody who could vacate by the time the primary is over, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. But some campaigns are benefiting from individual contributions. State Sen. Dina Titus’s campaign for governor was given a 100-square-foot room to work out of as an in-kind donation from an individual supporter.
Residential
Housing in Las Vegas is overpriced, according to recent reports. The average home price in Las Vegas is $296,500 — 28 percent above the $231,000 average it should be based on the area’s economics. The estimation takes into account household population, interest rates on mortgages, and income. Back in 2004, Las Vegas had a median home price of $188,600 and homes were only 6.1 percent overvalued, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Los Angeles
Commercial
Residential conversions and lack of office construction has strengthened the downtown office market, the Los Angeles Downtown News reported. According to commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap, the vacancy rate in L.A.’s central business district is predicted to fall to 10.6 percent this year. Brokers say vacancy will keep falling, possibly reaching a level not seen in almost a decade. Rents averaged $25.79 during the first half of 2006, up 5.7 percent from the same time in 2005.
Residential
Orange County home prices are down for the first time in a decade, the Orange County Business Journal reported. The median price in Orange County fell to $698,080 in August, a 2.5 percent drop from a year before, according to data released last month. Analysts predict median sales prices for existing homes in Orange County may decline by 10 percent in the next 12 months.
New Orleans
Residential/Commercial
New Orleans-area property owners seeking government compensation for damage from Hurricane Katrina are choosing to restore their homes rather than relocate. An analysis of government data by the Los Angeles Times shows of more than 150,000 home and business owners approved for reconstruction loans, only 2 percent are transferring the money to a property other than the one they own. The majority of those who want to move are going only as far as other New Orleans suburbs, according to Realtor.org.
San Francisco
Commercial
The hotel market in San Francisco is rebounding, with room rates on the rise. PKF Consulting estimated San Francisco’s average daily rate at $167 a night this year. That’s only $2 short of the city’s record-high 2000 average rate. Analysts predict that average daily hotel room rates will surpass $200, and occupancy rates will be about 80 percent by 2010.
Commercial
A San Francisco shopping center will be the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River. With 110 retailers, the expansion of the Westfield shopping center will triple the size of the complex. The retail hot spot is part of the revitalization of the Market Street corridor, between Fourth and Ninth streets, reported the San Jose Mercury News. At 1.5 million square feet, the center will be one of the nation’s largest urban malls.
Washington, D.C.
Residential/Commercial
Despite a national real estate downturn, a number of massive projects are in the pipeline in Washington, according to local reports. A big-box store for retailer Target, a new baseball stadium and waterfront development will be constructed in the Union Square area, one of the most notable sets of projects in the development queue. Other projects include the redevelopment of 40 acres in Fort Lincoln and the redevelopment of the old Robert F. Kennedy Stadium site.
Residential/Commercial
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams is concentrating on the downtown transit system as the center of future residential development. Using zoning restrictions and public projects, the City Council hopes to grow business centers and residential areas in Washington’s inner city through a 20-year plan. The plan calls for a mix of residential and commercial. It also encourages the district to develop on more than 400 acres of vacant lots in the inner city.