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Apartments Office Buildings Retail Centers Industrial Facilities Vacant Land Single-Family Housing Permit Issuance Economic & Financial News Potpourri Click here for a PDF (printable) version of this report.

Apartments

Apartment market occupancy in the Greater Houston area stood at 88.3% in August 2011, unchanged from the previous month, according to www.oconnordata.com, O’Connor & Associates data. Overall rents recorded an increase of $0.002 over the average in July. Average rental rates per unit stood at $769.85, an increase of $0.73 over the previous month. Pre-leasing is currently underway in nine communities (1,789 units) out of the 26 total properties (5,398 units) in the construction pipeline city-wide.

Apartment Developments

• Davis Development (Diane Gilbert: 770-474-4345) has completed construction of Grand Villas at Tuscan Lakes (18613), a 206-unit, Class A apartment community, located at 1800 South Egret Bay Boulevard in the Clear Lake/League City submarket (659Q). The 19-building property is currently 52% occupied. Community amenities include an auto detail bay, more than 1,100 square foot children's playground area, high tech cardio strength training, resort-style pool with Wi-Fi Sundeck and poolside gourmet grilling area. Unit amenities include black appliances with built-in microwaves, custom picture frame wood cabinetry, and designer tile backsplash in kitchens, lofty nine-foot ceilings with crown molding, ceiling fans with lighting in all bedrooms and living room, and full size washer and dryer in every home.
  
  
• Harris County Housing Authority (Paula B. Burns: 713-578-2113) has completed construction of Sierra Meadows (18428), a 90-unit, Senior Tax Credit community, located at 9835 North Sam Houston Parkway in the FM 1960 East submarket (376S). The Class B property is currently 50% occupied with average rents at $0.75 per square foot. Community amenities include a community clubhouse with beauty salon, media library, game room and generous dining area, resort-style pool with sundeck, and a courtyard that includes an 18-hole miniature golf putting green, walking trails, picnic and grill area, gazebo and fountain. Unit amenities include open kitchens with pantry and island, lavish spacious bathrooms with walk-in shower, ceiling fans, and sizable walk-in closets.
  
  
• Integrated Real Estate Group (Kenneth W. Fambro: 817-742-1851, kfambro@integratedreg.com) has completed construction of Wentworth Senior Housing (17720), a 90-unit, Senior Tax Credit community, located at 19030 Timber Forest Drive in the Kingwood/Lake Houston submarket (337W). The Class B property is currently 63% occupied with average rents at $0.76 per square foot. Community amenities include a clubhouse with beauty salon, media library, and large dining area, state-of-the-art fitness center designed for active seniors, picnic and grill area, and resort-style pool with sun deck. Unit amenities include an upgraded, fully-equipped open kitchen with appliances, pantry, and custom wood cabinets, large walk-in closets, and an included washer and dryer in each unit.

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The following chart illustrates historical apartment rental rates.

Source: O'ConnorData

Apartment Sales

Fairfield Trails

• Fairfield Trails Brays Oaks LP, an entity of Rockwell Management Corporation (Etan Mirwis: 713-957-8993, emirwis@rockwellmgmt.com), has purchased Fairfield Trails (3213), a 288-unit, Class B apartment community located at 10750 Westbrae Parkway in the Braeswood submarket (530X), from LBUBS 2004-C8 Laurel Creek LLC, an entity of LNR Partners Inc (Steven Ferreira: 305-695-5628). The 27-year-old property is 75% occupied with average rents at $0.82 per square foot.
  
  

Ravenwood

• Ravenwood Houston LLC (John F Scott: 310-447-6234) has purchased Ravenwood (1831), a 244-unit, Class C apartment community, located at 7964 Ravenwood Circle in the Spring Branch submarket (451S), from LB Ravenwood Apartments LP, an entity of Lehman Brothers (201-434-2650). The 42-year-old property is 97% occupied with average rents at $0.57 per square foot.
  
  

The Water Mill

• VC Watermill LLC, an entity of Vende Capital LP (Curtis Haines: 713-426- 1696), has purchased The Water Mill (2268), a 192-unit, Class B apartment community located at 6505 Westheimer Road in the Galleria submarket (490V), from 2525 S Voss Ltd (John Gilmore: 512-261-0320). The 41-year-old property is 90% occupied with average rents at $0.91 per square foot.

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Apartment Financing

Broadstone Grand Parkway

• Holliday Fenoglio Fowler — HFF — has arranged acquisition financing for Broadstone Grand Parkway (18108), a 342-unit, Class A apartment community located at 1111 Falcon Park Drive in Katy (485F), on behalf of Sunstone Realty Advisors (Andrew Greig: 604-681-5959, andrew@sunstoneadvisors.com). HFF also marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Alliance Residential Company and investors advised by Prudential Real Estate Investors. The seller was represented by the HFF team of Tre Banks, Chris Curry, Craig LaFollette, Todd Marix and Todd Stewart. Matt Kafka and John Brownlee arranged the fixed-rate loan provided by Allstate Investments, LLC. Construction on the property completed in 2010 and it was 95% occupied at the time of sale. The community features one- and two- bedroom units with rents ranging between $780 and $1,525 per unit.

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Office Buildings

Citywide occupancy for Houston area multi-tenant office buildings is 84.4% (Class A = 85.0%; Class B = 82.8%; Class C = 86.4%; Class D = 86.4%), according to the O’Connor & Associates Second Quarter 2011 Houston Office Data Program. The citywide quarterly multi-tenant office rental rate is $19.43 per square foot (Class A = $21.39; Class B = $18.44; Class C = $16.34; Class D = $16.26).
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Note: The office buildings listed herein are followed by their representative sector code and identification number as they appear in the O’Connor & Associates OfficeLink Online Data platform and are provided for subscriber cross-referencing. The property information contained within this database is updated on a monthly basis and accessible over the web. (Please contact us for more details.)

The following chart illustrates historical office rental rates.

Source: O'ConnorData.com

Office Sales

Corporate Plaza

• 7001 Corporate Investment LLC has purchased Corporate Plaza (1731), a 118,000 square foot, Class C office building located at 7001 Corporate Drive in the Southwest Freeway sector (529H), from East West Bank, an entity of East West Bancorp Inc (Michelle Ly: 626-768-6000).

  1710 S Dairy Ashford St

  The 32-year-old, three-story property has average rents at $12.60 per square foot. David Ching (510-379-1233, dching@marcusmillichap.com) and Edward Benton of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property and represented the seller in the transaction.
  
  
• Alinar Holdings LLC (John Wood: 713-529-7373) has purchased 1710 S Dairy Ashford St (1909), a 24,000 square foot, Class C office building located at 1710 South Dairy Ashford Street in the Westchase sector (488R), from AMWIL Mortgage LLC, an entity of AMCAP Mortgage (Garrett Clayton: 713-586-0500, agclayton@amcap1.com). The 32-year-old property is 95% occupied with average rents at $15.75 per square foot.

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Office Financing

One Briarlake Plaza

• Northmarq Capital has arranged refinancing for One Briarlake Plaza (2007), a 502,000 square foot, Class A office building located at 2000 West Sam Houston Parkway South in the Westchase sector (489R), through Bank of America and SBAF Mortgage Fund I/Lender LLC, a mezzanine lender. Financing was arranged on behalf of Behringer Harvard REIT I Inc (Robert M. Behringer, 214-655-1600, rbehringer@behringerharvard.com). The 13-year-old property is 98% occupied with average rents at $27.00 per square foot.
  
  
• Holliday Fenoglio Fowler — HFF — has arranged acquisition financing for a five-property office portfolio. It also represented both parties in the sale transaction. The fixed-rate loan was arranged through NexBank on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture comprising Dallas-based Peloton Capital Partners (214-220-0600) and an Austin-based private equity firm. Steve Heldenfels (214-265-0880, sheldenfels@hfflp.com), Managing Director of the Dallas office of HFF,

  PSB & J Plaza

  arranged the loan and represented the buyer, while Danny Miller and Marty Hogan represented the seller, General Electric Commercial Finance Real Estate, an entity of GE Capital Corp.
  
  

One Woodbranch Center

The properties in the Energy Corridor sector include:

• PSB & J Plaza (935), a 100,000 square foot, Class B building located at 1250 Woodbranch Park Drive. The 30-year-old property is 51% occupied with average rents at $18.50 per square foot.
  
  
• One Woodbranch Centre (1387), a 66,000 square foot, Class B building located at 11931 Wickchester Lane. The 27-year-old building is 89% occupied with average rents at $19.00 per square foot.

Great Space in Westchase

The properties in the Westchase sector include:

Woodchase Building I

• Great Space in Westchase (1933), a 61,000 square foot, Class B building located at 10200 Richmond Avenue. The 31-year-old property is 66% occupied with average rents at $18.00 per square foot.
  
  
• Woodchase Building I (1968), a 60,000 square foot, Class C building located at 2950 Gessner Road. The 34-year-old property is fully occupied with average rents at $14.50 per square foot.

  Woodchase Bldg II

  
  
  
• Woodchase Bldg II (1919), a 60,000 square foot, Class C building located at 3030 Gessner Road. The 32-year-old property is fully occupied with average rents at $15.00 per square foot.

Leasing activities for the properties will be handled by Griff Jaggard and Derek Beck of Moody Rambin Interests. Peloton plans to open a property management office in Houston to oversee the management of the properties.

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Office Leases

Sage Plaza One

• CB Richard Ellis — CBRE — assisted in the following leases in the Houston area:
  
  
• Six tenants signed new leases at Sage Plaza One (496), a 520,000 square foot, Class B office building located at 5151 San Felipe Street in the Galleria sector (491Q), with Barnhart Interests (713-622-0000). The 28-year-old property has average rents at $18.00 per square foot. Columbia Gas Transmission leased 55,500 square feet; Science Applications leased 41,132 square feet; OTC Global Holdings (E. Javier Loya: 713-358-5450) leased 21,150 square feet; Higginbotham Insurance Agency (Rusty Reid: 800-728-2374) leased 20,841 square feet; Black & Veatch Corp leased 6,255 square feet; and Global Ground Transport leased 2,109 square feet. Bonnie Kelley of CBRE represented the landlord.
  
  

801 Travis

• Andrews Kurth has renewed its 19,000 square foot lease at 801 Travis (118), a 225,000 square foot, Class B office building located at 801 Travis Street in the Central Business District (493L), with Goddard Investment Group (Robert Goddard: 404-442-5500). The 30-year-old property is 64% occupied with average rents at $14.50 per square foot. Charles Gordon (713-881-0921, charles.gordon@cbre.com) and Kristian Nielsen of CBRE represented the tenant, while Virgil Hydes of Lincoln Property Co represented the landlord.
  
  

Southwest Bank of Texas

• Two lease deals at Southwest Bank of Texas (85) have brought occupancy at the 219,000 square foot, Class B office building to 100%. The 11-year-old building is located at 1801 Main Street and has average rents at $24.00 per square foot. HDR Engineering (Richard R. Bell: 713-335-1900) renewed and expanded its lease to 16,982 square feet, with Steve Burkett of Jones Lang LaSalle as representative; Coastal Water Authority leased 8,152 square feet with Chip Horne of Cushman & Wakefield acting as representative. Dave Hanusa (713-980-4762, dave.hanusa@cbre.com) of CBRE represented the landlord in both transactions.
  
  
• Regus (Mark Dixon: 713-840-6000) has leased 17,000 square feet at Three Sugar Creek (1509), a 153,000 square foot, Class A office building located at 3 Sugar Creek Boulevard in Sugar Land (568R), from American National Insurance Co (David Behrens: 409-763-4661, david.behrens@anico.com). The five-year-old, six-story building is 83% occupied with average rents at $21.00 per square foot. CBRE brokered the transaction; Baron Aldrine,

  10255 Richmond Avenue

  Peter Dana, Elliott Hirshfeld, Mike Kay, and Steve Rigby represented the tenant and Steve Rocher and Bonnie Kelley represented the landlord.
  
  
• Commonwealth Engineering and Construction (Lyle Hanna: 713-979-2333, lhanna@teamcec.com) has renewed its lease of 25,155 square feet at 10255 Richmond Ave (1934), a 102,000 square foot, Class B office building located at 10255 Richmond Avenue in the Westchase sector (489Z). The 30-year-old property is 63% occupied with average rents at $20.00 per square foot. The tenant was represented by Kevin Hodges of Studley. The landlord, Caroline Partners (Philip M. Schneidau: 713-621-3222, pschneidau@bmsmgmt.com), was represented by CBRE’s Steve Rocher.
  
  
• Griffin Partners acted as representative in the following deals in the area:
  
  

1177 West Loop South Building

• Patrick Henry Creative Promotions Inc (Patrick Henry: 281-983-5500, patrick@phcp.com) has leased 10,161 square feet at 1177 West Loop South Building (523), a 342,000 square foot Class C office building located at 1177 West Loop South in the Midtown/Allen Parkway sector (491M). The

  New Trails Office Building

  32-year-old building is 90% occupied with average rents at $16.50 per square foot. Steve Cumley of Pete Stewart Properties represented the tenant. The landlord, Griffin Partners, was represented in-house by Chris Lewis (713-439-5323, clewis@griffinpartners.com).
  
  
• Webber has leased 19,189 square feet at New Trails Office Building (2393), a 95,000 square foot, Class B office building located at 9303 New Trails Drive in The Woodlands (251B), from Town Center Development Co (Karen West: 281-465-4929). The three-year-old property is 61% leased with average rents at $18.00 per square foot. Dan Starr, Chris Lewis and Drew Lewis of Griffin Partners represented the tenant, while the landlord was represented by Dennis Conine of Conine & Associates.

Get latest tenant and vacancy information at OconnorData.com.

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Retail Centers

Citywide occupancy for Houston area multi-tenant retail buildings is 87.6% (Regional = 94.8%; Community = 88.4%; Neighborhood = 85.1%; Strip = 86.0%), according to the Second Quarter 2011 Houston Retail Data Program. Occupancy is up 0.21 points over the last quarter and up almost 2% over the second quarter 2010. The citywide quarterly multi-tenant retail rental rate is $1.58 per square foot (Regional = $2.73; Community = $1.59; Neighborhood = $1.22; Strip = $1.28).
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Note: The retail centers listed herein are followed by their representative identification number as they appear in the new O’Connor & Associates RetailLink Online Data platform and are provided for subscriber cross-referencing. The property information contained within this database is updated on a monthly basis and accessible over the web. (Please contact us for more details.)

The following chart illustrates historical retail rental rates.

Source: O'ConnorData.com

Retail Sales

Greens Road Plaza

• Realty Com LLC, an entity of KJ Holdings Inc (Jawaid Samana: 281-458-0503) has purchased Greens Road Plaza (630), a 21,000 strip center located at 702 Greens Road in the Far North sector (373N), from

  Somerton Plaza Center

  Hartman REIT Operating Partnership III LP, an entity of Whitestone REIT (James C. Mastandrea: 713-827-9595, ir@whitestonereit.com). The seller received a reported $1.8 million cash for the 33-year-old property, which is 85% occupied.
  
  
• Somerton Plaza Partners LLC, an entity of Somerton Plaza Partners Inc has purchased Somerton Plaza Center (3885), a 17,000 square foot strip center located at 8610 Spencer Highway in La Porte (538Z), from Sovereign Bank (Derek Blount: 214-242-1900). The three-year-old property had been foreclosed on in September last year.

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Retail Leases

• Los Angeles-based Teletron (213-386-8999) opened its first store in Houston, leasing 17,500 square feet at Lion Square (54424), a 121,000 square foot, neighborhood shopping center located at 10780 Bellaire Boulevard in the Far Southwest sector (529G). The 31-year-old property is currently being renovated by owner Whitestone REIT (Anne Gregory: 713-827-9595, agregory@whitestonereit.com) and the first phase of renovations is expected to complete this fall. The second phase which involves new landscaping and architectural upgrades will be completed in 2012.

       Get latest tenant and vacancy information at OconnorData.com.

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Industrial Facilities

Citywide occupancy for Houston area operating multi-tenant industrial facilities is 86.4% (Bulk = 84.0%; Flex = 86.8%; Manufacturing = 94.3%, Service = 84.4%, Distribution = 86.4%, R&D = 82.6%), according to the O’Connor & Associates Second Quarter 2011 Houston Industrial Data Program. Occupancy increased by 0.3% over the last quarter and decreased by 0.35% by over the second quarter 2010. The overall quarterly rental rates is $0.45 per square foot (Bulk = $0.43; Flex = $0.47; Manufacturing = $0.36; Service = $0.60; Distribution = $0.38; R&D = $0.77).
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Note: The industrial facilities listed herein are followed by their representative identification number as they appear in the O’Connor & Associates IndustrialLink Online Data platform and are provided for subscriber cross-referencing. The property information contained within this database is updated on a quarterly basis and accessible over the web. (Please contact us for more details.)

Industrial Developments

• Liberty Property Trust (Jay Ohanesian: 610-648-1700) has broken ground on two speculative industrial buildings within Liberty Northwest Business Center, formerly known as Bammel at Beltway Business Park, in the Far Northwest sector (370V).
  
  
• Liberty Northwest Business Center Bldg 4 (38079): a 128,000 square foot building will be constructed at 14031 Hollister Road.
  
  
• Liberty Northwest Business Center Bldg 3 (38078): an 84,000 square foot building is coming up at 5500 North Sam Houston Parkway.

Both buildings have been designed by Seeberger Architects (Perry Seeberger: 713-977-5400), with Terra Associates Inc serving as engineer and Cadence McShane Construction serving as general contractor. Build out of the facilities is expected in January 2012.

The following chart illustrates historical industrial rental rates.

Source: O'ConnorData.com

Industrial Sales

Beltway Antoine Business Center

• DCT Industrial Trust Inc (Philip L. Hawkins: 303-597-2400) has purchased Beltway Antoine Business Center (37533), a four-year-old, 200,000 square foot warehouse facility located at 3403 North Sam Houston Parkway in the Near Northwest sector (371T), from joint venture partners Mountain West Industrial Properties LLC (Jeff Riggs: 303-843-0440, jeff@essexfg.com) and American National Insurance Co. Rusty Tamlyn and Trent Agnew of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler represented the seller.
  
  

24131 W Hardy

• Canam Po LP, an entity of Pensyn Realty Inc has purchased 24131 W Hardy (160), a 30-year-old, 97,000 square foot warehouse facility located at 24131 West Hardy Road in the Far North sector (292Z), from Nl Ventures VI Hardy LLC, an entity of AIC Ventures Inc (Peter Carlsen: 214-363-5620, petercarlsen@aicventures.com).
  
  
• Impex International Group (281-416-4449) has purchased 11926 Brittmoore Park (6246), an 11-year-old, 34,000 square foot office/warehouse facility located at 11926 Brittmoore Park Drive in the Far Northwest sector (449B), from GSL Industrial Partners Sub LP, an entity of GSL Welcome Group (Craig G. Wilson: 713-952-7000, cwilson@gslwelcome.com). Payton Indermuehle and Nicholas Peterson of ICO Commercial represented the buyer, while Jason Wasaff and Ryan Proler of Wilson Wasaff Group represented the seller.

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Industrial Leases

Bammel Business Park

• Malvern Instruments (Brian Dutko: 168-489-2456, brian.dutko@malvern.com) has leased 22,493 square feet at Bammel Business Park (26343), a three-year-old, 110,000 square foot industrial facility located at 4802 North Sam Houston Parkway in the Far Northwest sector (371N), from First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc (Bruce W. Duncan: 312-344-4300). Tiffany Nuche and Trey Halberdier (281-210-0094, trey@bandierpartners.com) of Bandier Realty Partners represented the tenant, while Matt DiLeo (713-300-0322, mdileo@streamrealty.com)

  Cunningham Business Park

  and Justin Robinson of Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord.
  
  
• Childress Directional Drilling has leased 15,000 square feet at Cunningham Business Park (6298), a five-year-old, 15,000 square foot warehouse located at 6431 Cunningham Road in the Far Northwest sector (409X), from Clay Development & Construction. Beau Kaleel, James Foreman and Kevin Snodgrass of Cushman &

  Brookhollow Business Park

  Wakefield of Texas represented the tenant, while Charlie Christ (713-789-2529, cchrist@claydevelopment.com) represented the landlord in-house.
  
  
• Professional Services Industries (713-224-2047) has leased Brookhollow Business Park (4385), a 36-year-old, 15,000 square foot warehouse located at 3730 Dacoma Street in the Near West sector (452S), from Fairhope Partners. NAI Houston brokered the sale with Darren O'Conor and Dan Boyles representing the tenant and John Ferruzzo (713-985-4608, jferruzzo@naihouston.com), Chris Kugle, and Dustin Gillioz representing the landlord.

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• Alamo/Parkside Jointventure, an entity of Moody Rambin Interests (Dan Moody, Jr: 713-271-5900, dan.moody2@moodyrambin.com) has purchased 6 lots, totaling almost 292 acres located along the Waller County line, between FM 359 and Jordan Roads in Richmond, Fort Bend County (482N,P,K), from Compass Bank (Matthew Hickey: 972-705-8601, matthew.hickey@bbvacompass.com).
  
  
• The Tomball Economic Development Corporation (281-401-4086, info@tomballtxedc.org) has purchased 96 acres on the corner of Hufsmith-Kohrville and Holderrieth Roads in Tomball (289T). The land is currently zoned as single-family residential but will be re-zoned for industrial, based on the buyer’s plan to develop an industrial park on the land.
  
  
• DT Hardy Development Ltd (AJ Weaver: 713-816-1436) has purchased 10.7 acres located at the northeast corner of FM 529 and Jackrabbit Road in northwest Houston (408Q), from Big Eastex #1 Ltd. Mark and Patrick Wimberly of Houston Commercial Development brokered the sale. The property was purchased for future development of an industrial/warehousing complex.

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Single-Family Housing

MLS home sales decreased slightly in July as 4,341 existing homes were sold, compared to 4,811 homes sold in June 2011, according to the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR). Sales for July 2011 increased by 22% compared to July 2010. The median price of an existing single-family home sold in July was $150,000, unchanged from the value in 2010, while the average home price – $212,895 – represented an increase of 3.3% compared to July 2010.
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Note: MLS sales include primarily existing home sales throughout the Houston region. Historical comparisons are offered solely for informational purposes and may not truly reflect growth in sales.

According to American MetroStudy, net sales of new homes in the Greater Houston Area increased by almost 9% in July 2011 to 1,265 and are up 40% from July 2010. Realtor co-op sales represented over 61% of gross sales for the month, and are up 4.6% from July 2010. Traffic increased by 10% compared to last year to 14,268 in July 2011. The inventory of completed speculative homes (1,247) is down 9.4% from July last year. There are 1,410 spec homes under construction, a decrease of 23% from July 2010. Overall, the 2,657 specs (both completed and under construction) is down by 17.1% compared to July 2010.
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Note: the 23 homebuilders in this survey account for approximately 55% of housing starts in Houston.

According to RealtyTrac, Texas reported 10,571 foreclosure filings in July, a 13.2% increase in filings when compared to June. Harris County recorded 1,985 filings which represented a 8% decrease from the previous month. Almost all of the filings were in Houston which recorded 1,198 filings in July. On a year-to-date basis, Texas filed 75,233 foreclosures in July.

The following chart illustrates historical existing home sales.

Source: Houston Association of Realtors

• Taylor Morrison (Sheryl Palmer: 281-598-3000) has purchased 184 acres within the Riverstone master-planned community located south of US 59 and west of SH 6 in Sugar Land, from Sugar Land Development LLC. The buyer plans to develop Avalon at Riverstone consisting of 338 single-family homes, the fifth Avalon-branded community in Fort Bend County. The homes will be priced from the mid-$200,000s up to the mid-$500,000s. Lots sizes will range between 70 ft. and 80 ft. for the ‘Inspired Series’, and will be 60 ft. for the ‘Chateau Series’. The community is expected to open in spring 2012. Johnson Development Corp (Douglas Goff: 713-960-9977) is the principal partner in the development venture.
  
  

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Permit Issuance

The City of Houston issued permits to build 248 private single-family houses in July. 21 permits were issued for private multifamily buildings. Demolition permits were issued for 53 private single-family houses and 1 multifamily structure. In addition, 169 permits were issued for privately owned non-residential construction totaling $59,559,357 and 22 permits were issued for public non-residential construction. Additions, alterations, and conversions totaled $123,572,748 for the private sector and $10,962,316 for the public sector.

Cost of Construction*
	2009	2010	2011
Month of July	$392,777,784	$265,803,712	$345,485,672
Year-to-Date	$2,449,467,501	$1,923,349,078	$1,982,653,015

*The figures in this section include all categories of buildings and non-building structures

Source: City of Houston Housing Statistics

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Economic & Financial News

The total number of nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in the ten-county Houston area decreased by about 9,200 jobs to 2,591,200 in July 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. This total is 65,664 jobs more than the 2,525,540 jobs in July 2010. Of nonagricultural employers, the Education & Health Services sector marked the largest growth over the month adding 2,200 jobs. On a year-on-year basis, the Mining and Logging sector recorded the largest growth adding almost 9,386 jobs.

The following chart illustrates total non-agricultural employment in the Houston MSA.

Source:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of motor fuel and gasoline in the Houston area continued to increase on a year-on-year basis. The index in July 2011 – 309.888 – represented an increase of 38% over July 2010. Over the month however prices reduced marginally bringing down the index by 0.8%. The index for food at home stood at 210.170, an increase of 0.4% over the month. The shelter index stood at 208.433 and the index for household energy stood at 184.297, which was almost 16 points less than national average for household energy. CPI is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services and is relative to a figure of 100 in 1982, the base year.

The Business Cycle Index (BCI) for Texas stood at a seasonally adjusted 184.5 in June while the BCI for the Houston metropolitan area stood at 272.7, according to the Federal Reserve. The Texas Leading Index posted 121.5 for the month of June 2011. The indexes represent broad movements in local Texas economies relative to a figure of 100 in 1987, the base year.

The Baker Hughes count of active domestic rotary rigs stands at 1,900 for July 2011. The current rig count increased by 21% compared to last year’s figure of 1,573 rigs. The rotary rig count is a census of the number of drilling rigs actually exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States.

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Potpourri

According to the monthly U.S. Monster Local Employment Index, overall online job demand in the Houston area stood at 135 in July, an increase of 3 points from June 2011 and an increase of 20 points over July last year. Significant upward changes from the previous month were noted in the following sectors; Transportation and Material Movement (18 points), Arts, Design and Media (14 points), and Food Preparation and Serving (10 points). The index showed significant decrease in the following sectors; Community and Social Services (15 points), and Construction and Extraction (11 points).

The Architecture Billings Index developed by the American Institute of Architects, for July stood at 45.1, a drop of 1.2 points from the previous month’s score of 46.3 (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). This represents the fifth consecutive month the index has declined and the lowest figure since February 2010. Both the project inquiries index and the inquiries for new projects score was 53.1, a significant decrease from the figure in June.

Meyerland Plaza

Meyerland Plaza (2003), a 965,000 square foot regional center located at Beechnut and the West Loop (531Q) has been listed for sale by Eastdil Secured (214-965-0202) on behalf Ronus Properties (Rick Langhorne, 678-553-4000, rlanghorne@ronusproperties.com). The former power center is home to tenants like Best Buy, Marshalls, JC Penney, and Target. Ronus is reported to be selling all of its US real estate holdings.

Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Co. (Kip Wadsworth: 801-553-1661), a subsidiary of Houston-based Sterling Construction Co (Joseph P. Harper, Sr.: 281-821-9091, joeh@texas-sterling.com) has acquired J. Banicki Construction Inc, an Arizona-based specialist in heavy highway construction. Post acquisition, Jerry Banicki (480-921-8016, jbanicki@banicki.com) will continue to serve as president. Wadsworth Construction purchased 100 percent of Banicki’s stock for a reported $8 million. Other terms of purchase include a 5-year earn out when Banicki crosses $2 million annually in EBITDA, and Banicki will deliver certain levels of tangible equity and working capital at the closing date.

Spring Independent School District (Jeff Windsor: 281-891-6000) has announced the opening of Gloria Marshall Elementary School (Kathy Morrison: 281-891-4900, kathymor@springisd.org), a 105,000 square foot campus designed to be one of the ‘greenest’ schools in Texas. Developed using resource conservation techniques, the campus classrooms will have natural light available, solar panels will supplement energy requirements, and a wind turbine will also produce power. Water wells under the parking lots and playground will cycle water for heating and cooling the school. This geothermal system is expected to save 25% energy consumption compared to schools of similar size. The school will house over 700 students. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for October 20.

Following appointments and promotions were noted in real estate firms in Houston:

Ariel Guerrero

Steve Montgomery

• Ariel Guerrero has joined PM Realty Group (713-209-5810) as Vice President of the company’s Research and Market Analytics Group. Prior to joining PM Realty, Mr. Guerrero was with Grubb & Ellis.
  
  
• Steve Montgomery (713-439-5317, smontgomery@griffinpartners.com) has joined Griffin Partners as Senior Vice President and will also serve as Managing Partner of iCORE Global-Houston, a partner company of Griffin. Mr. Montgomery has over 40 years of experience in real estate brokerage.
  
  
• Hashir Saleem, has joined KET Enterprises (713-355-4646) as Associate in the firm’s commercial brokerage practice.
  
  
• Lisa Hughes has joined J. Beard Real Estate Co (281-367-2220) as an Associate.
  
  

John Roberts

Chad Beck

Bart Dansby

• Jones Lang LaSalle announced the following promotions at their Houston office:
  
  
• John Roberts (713-888-4004, johnp.roberts@am.jll.com) was promoted to Regional Director/Executive Vice President of the firm’s project and development services division.
  
  
• Bart Dansby (bart.dansby@am.jll.com) was promoted to Associate Director/Vice President in the project and development services division.
  
  
• Chad Beck (713-888-4084, chad.beck@am.jll.com) was promoted to National Director/Senior Vice President of office tenant representation.

Jarret Venghaus

Ryan Fuselier



• Jarret Venghaus (713-888-4035, jarret.venghaus@am.jll.com) was promoted to Nat ional Director/Vice President of industrial tenant representation.
  
  
• Ryan Fuselier (713-888-4032, ryan.fuselier@am.jll.com) was promoted to Associate Director/ Vice President in the industrial tenant representation division.
  
  
• Bob D. Boozer (713-869-2402, bdb@landevengineers.com) has joined Landey Engineers as President. The company provides engineering for land and site development projects and municipal utility district services.
  
  
• Michael G. Voinis has joined Halff Associates (713-523-7161), an engineering/architecture consulting firm, as Director of public works.

Please direct any questions regarding content in the Houston Real Estate Trends to Holly Kelch at 713-686-9955 or hkelch@poconnor.com.

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