AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) Apartment occupancy was at 93.7 percent
at the end of 2006, and it is at 95 percent at the end of 2007. Occupancy in both
Dallas and San Antonio held at 89.4 percent, while Houston was at 88.1 percent.
Rents in Austin rose to 91 cents per square foot in 2006, up 7 percent from
85 cents in 2005. Rents were driven by increasing demand and a tightening of
supply, according to Apartment Realty Advisors' (ARA) Texas Multifamily
Report.
Rents in San Antonio and Houston stand at about 77 cents, and Dallas is
holding at 82 cents.
The north and northwest Austin areas absorbed the most units at 873,
followed by south Austin with 474. The most proposed units are also in the
north with 2,879, followed by central Austin with 1,590. According to ARA,
the Austin market currently has 140,400 apartments.
OCCUPANCY AVERAGE RENT AUG 2005 AUG 2006 %CHANGE AUG 2005 AUG 2006
%CHANGE
AUSTIN 92.0% 92.7% 0.8% $719 $771 7.2%
DALLAS 89.2% 91.1% 2.1% $722 $746 3.3%
FT WORTH 87.7% 89.3% 1.8% $640 $659 3.0%
HOUSTON 87.9% 90.7% 3.2% $676 $723 7.0%
SAN ANTONIO 90.8% 91.2% 0.4% $652 $674 3.4%
TEXAS HIGHLIGHTS:
In the aftermath of last year's hurricane evacuee housing crisis, the five
major apartment markets in Texas have become healthier and stronger.
Over the last year, the largest gain in apartment occupancy among the five
major metros in Texas was a 3.2% improvement which occurred in the Houston
metro area. Looking back to just before last year's hurricane crisis, the
area's occupancy was just 87.9%. At one point, during September 2005, the
area's occupancy surged to 96% in response to the need for emergency
housing. After adjusting to the subsequent changes in the market, occupancy
for the area was 90.7% at the close of this August.
The biggest news among ALN's Texas metros is that overall average quoted
rental rates have increased over the last year in all five major apartment
markets.
The largest gain in the average quoted rent among Texas' major markets was
a 7.2% jump in Austin. In August 2005, the average apartment in the Capital
metro had an average asking rent of $719 per unit per month. Twelve months
later, at the close of August 2006, that amount had increased to an average
of $771.
Ranking in second place, Houston had a 7% gain in average rent over the past
year. The area's average rent went from $676 up to $723 at the close of
this August.
JERRY JONES SELLS 2,000-UNIT RIATA
AUSTIN (globest.com) Four buyers pooled resources to buy the 2,044-unit
Riata and 17 acres at 12300 Riata Trace Parkway in northwest Austin. The
seller was Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and his Blue Star Land
LP. Capmark Investments LP, two of its public pension fund clients and Legacy
Partners Inc. bought the properties for more than $150 million. The
multifamily property was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale.
Riata units average 923 square feet and rent for $740 to $2,250 per month.
Renovations that could reach $4 million are planned. Another 306 units may
be built on the purchased acreage, but a decision on that will not be made
this year.
Capmark Senior Vice President Michael Bryant says the deal required two
Freddie Mac loans totaling $50 million. The financing package included a
holding company and different single-purpose entities for each loan, none
of which are cross-collateralized.
THE TWO BECOME ONE
AUSTIN (globest.com) – National Commercial Ventures LLC, represented by Austin-based Colliers Oxford Commercial, has purchased the 233-unit English Aire Apartments and 165-unit Lafayette Landing along Burton Dr. with plans to renovate and operate the side-by-side complexes as one. Closings on the buildings were held simultaneously by the two different sellers.
Built in 1973 near downtown, the 90 percent occupied, Class-B complexes have a combined Travis County assessed value of $8.7 million. Comparable multifamily assets have sold for $35,000 to $45,000 per door. Lafayette Landing at 1835 Burton Dr. has one- and two-bedroom units with an average monthly rent of $480. Its neighbor at 1919 and 2121 Burton Dr. has studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments renting for $435 to $788 per month.
Hendricks & Partners’ Austin office represented Peek-Howe Real Estate Inc. of Baton Rouge, La., in the sale of Lafayette Landing and represented Austin English Aire Ltd. of Austin in the English Aire disposition.
$25-MILLION AUSTIN APARTMENT PORTFOLIO SOLD
AUSTIN (GMH Capital Partners) – Pennsylvania-based GMH Capital Partners announced yesterday it represented ITW Mortgage Investments III in the sale of four Austin garden-style apartment communities. The Hayman Company purchased the 702-unit multifamily portfolio for slightly more than $25 million.
The apartment complexes in the portfolio sale were Quail Run, Coppermill, Gateways and Woodstone. They have an average occupancy level of 95 percent.
"The Austin multifamily portfolio provided The Hayman Company a unique opportunity to acquire a substantial portfolio of apartment complexes with excellent amenities in an outstanding location," said Morgen J. Busch, account representative of GMH Capital Partners.
ROUND ROCK GABLES AND SOUTHGATE SOLD
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Pacific Coast Capital Partners) A joint venture
between Pacific Coast Capital Partners (PCCP) and Jackson Square Properties
is buying Maple Leaf Portfolio, a 1,918-unit apartment portfolio of Class-B
communities, most of which are in Texas.
Jennifer Diaz, PCCP vice president, says an exterior facelift is planned for
a majority of the properties. Texas properties included in the purchase:
Round Rock Gables has 188 units on nine acres. It is 98 percent occupied.
Another Round Rock property, Southgate, totals 200 units. It is on 18.6
acres and is 95 percent occupied.
DOWNTOWN AUSTIN EMERGING PROJECTS
AUSTIN(statesman.com) – Work has started in the downtown area on six projects, with several more projects expected to break ground in early 2007. So far, these developments would add more than 3,000 living units.
Work should start Feb. 1 on Spring, a 36-story condominium tower at Third and Bowie Streets, said Robert Barnstone, one of the project's developers. Rafii Architects of Vancouver, British Columbia, are the designers of the tower. Dick Clark Architects of Austin will design the interiors of the 220 units.
Just south of downtown, Crescent Resources LLC, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, plans to start work in early 2007 on Aquaterra, a 19-story, 173-unit condominium tower at 210 Barton Springs Road. The project will cost almost $50 million and should be finished in late 2008, said Steven Brandt, vice president of Crescent's Texas operations.
ADDING HEIGHT TO THE METLIFE HIGH-RISE
AUSTIN (statesman.com) – MetLife and partner the Hanover Co. are set to build the 36-story apartment tower — eight more floors than the original plans — envisioned at 101 Colorado St., next to MetLife's 22-story office tower at 100 Congress Ave.
When the project was announced in 2004, the plans called for 202 units in a 28-story curved roof tower, with townhouses facing Congress. The revised design calls for 258 units, including three live-work units facing Cesar Chavez Street and nearly 1,000 square feet of street-level retail. HKS Architects, designers of the Whole Foods Market headquarters and flagship store on North Lamar Blvd. at West Sixth St., designed the apartment project with a tower rising on the north side of the site and a lower-profile structure facing Town Lake.
Demolition of the drive-in bank now occupying the site could begin this week. Move in could begin by fall 2008.
UT CAMPUS HOUSING GOING UP
AUSTIN (statesman.com) – College Houses Inc., a 501c3 organization with six co-op residential properties surrounding the University of Texas campus, plans to spend $10.9 million to demolish one of its properties in West Campus and replace it with a seven-story residential building that will triple its student housing capacity. The reconstruction of the property at 1905 and 1907 Nueces St. will include ground-level space for the firm’s offices and expand bed count from 45 to 160.
Alan Robinson, general administrator with College Houses Inc., said that the group was able to increase its unit offerings without buying additional land when the Austin City Council passed the University Neighborhood Overlay provision in September 2003. This provision allowed for denser residential development in the areas surrounding the UT Campus.
The Staubach Co. will be managing project development. Plans are to break ground in May 2007, with construction expected to be complete in fall 2008.
MUELLER MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT BEGINS
AUSTIN(statesman.com) – Phase one construction is underway on the new mixed-use urban village at the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport site, two miles from the University of Texas and three miles from the Capitol. Store openings are scheduled for April 2007 for the first three big-box anchor retail tenants — Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and Marshalls — located along the I-35 frontage road between 51st Street and Airport Blvd.
The first two phases will have 370,000 square feet of national, regional and local retailers and restaurants on 36 acres. Included in the master plan for Mueller will be additional retail in a town center setting, with restaurants and smaller boutique retailers. The development’s final buildout is expected to take almost ten years and will include 650,000 square feet of retail space.
Catellus Development Corp. is the company responsible for transforming the 711-acre site into an urban village of shops, homes, services, schools and offices. The company is in the process of selecting home builders for the first phase of the planned 4,600 residential units.
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