In today’s commercial real estate environment, it can be difficult to determine what is actually happening with assets in our community. With declining energy prices ruling the headlines and office vacancy on the rise, coupled with booming retail development and medical office expansions, owners and investors are likely baffled by these mixed signals. Therefore, it’s important to align yourself with an experienced professional who can guide you through today’s challenging market.
The J. Beard Real Estate Co. prepared for the coming increases in office supply in early 2014 and put plans in place for clients focusing on tenant retention, encouraging occupancy, and protecting owners’ cash flow. Over the past 12 months, vacancy rates in the office markets have increased over 55% while subleases across the sector continue to apply downward pressure on rental rates and occupancy levels. For those owners who were ready, incomes have been steady and our clients were prepared for this rotation after years of increasing rental rates and slimming office availabilities in the market for tenants.
Of course, there is another side to this coin. For our clients searching for office space, we have preached patience as often as practical and this year many new opportunities exist for tenants to make a favorable deal amongst a variety of high quality assets here locally.
Lastly, the investment markets continue to operate from a position of strength as cap rates remain low and high-quality investment opportunities are minimal locally. This has led to competition with higher pricing for assets as investors from out of state and beyond are thirsty for yields in the challenging economic environments. With the stock markets reflecting volatility and news cycles having an enormous impact on valuations, commercial real estate is more popular than ever. New laws have allowed for crowd-funding of investments, lowering the barriers to entry for smaller investors to dip their toe into the markets.
While financing is still available at favorable rates for quality projects, banks and credit facilities as a whole are being cautious with Texas in light of current energy prices. We have successfully transacted a number of assets in this volatile period by connecting our clients with life insurance companies, private equity, and other creative sources for debt to fund their investments. We have closed more investment deals in the past 24 months than at any point in our history. Our team of experienced professionals continually scours the market for opportunities far beyond typical “listings” to bring our clientele the best opportunities to place capital within the community.
Whether you are a commercial property owner, developer, investor or tenant, we invite you to learn how we combine our commercial real estate expertise with cutting-edge marketing and advisory services to help you achieve your goals. We encourage you to contact our team of qualified professionals at 281-367-2220 or visit our website at www.jbeardcompany.com.
–Josh Feinberg
The J. Beard Real Estate Company
