TX CRE Brief: February 2021
Hello Again! Hope you are thawed out! Please excuse a little bit of the dust as I move a myriad of data over to this new platform. It was one heck of a cold month and those days without heat and power took their toll. Please make sure you read my Book and Blog Spotlight at the end of this post for more on that topic!
DEALS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dallas Business Journal reports that two more out-of-state companies have planted flags in TX. Florida based Volt Lighting and Louisville based Payment Solutions Int’l have opened sites in TX.
NewsTalk Texas reports that Meritage Homes is partnering with Trophy Signature Homes to build a residential community off US287 near Eagle Mountain Lake. Housing inventory is definitely going to be of great concern as companies and individuals re-locate to TX.
REBusiness Online reports that HPI Real Estate Purchased 775-Unit Extra Space Self-Storage Facility in San Antonio.
The Texas Workforce Commission shares that Disaster Aid is Available in 108 Counties Affected by the Winter Storm.
ECONOMY & MARKETS
Texas A&M’s “Texas Quarterly Commercial Report” for 4th Quarter 2020 was released this month.
Additionally, TAMU Real Estate Research Center shares the following:
Initial unemployment insurance claims in Texas decreased to 34,700 the week ending Feb. 13, bringing the total since March 21 to 4.41 million, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
However, Texas' unemployment claims are still two times greater than pre-pandemic levels.
Continuing unemployment claims increased for the second consecutive week to 352,900 the week ending Feb. 6.
"Layoffs continue to slow, but laid-off workers are struggling to find job opportunities," said Texas Real Estate Research Center Research Economist Dr. Luis Torres.
The number of workers receiving benefits through the pandemic unemployment assistance program, which is open to gig workers and others who don’t typically receive benefits, fell the week ending Feb. 13.
U.S. initial claims increased to 861,900 the week ending Feb. 13, bringing the 48-week total to 78.9 million.
According to Torres, the increase in national claims the last two weeks indicates employment continues to struggle to reclaim traction.
Fewer people in all of Texas' major and border metros filed initial unemployment claims the week ending Feb. 6.
Using data from the DOL and the Employment and Training Administration, the Center has estimated unemployment claims for Texas' major and border metros since March 21:
· Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, 1.02 million claims;
· Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, 971,800 claims;
· San Antonio-New Braunfels, 300,200 claims;
· Austin-Round Rock, 251,500 claims;
· McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, 122,800 claims;
· El Paso, 105,800 claims;
· Brownsville-Harlingen, 54,100 claims; and
· Laredo, 30,800 claims.
The retail trade sector registered the highest number of initial claims the week ending Feb. 6. The sector was followed by administrative/support/waste management/remediation services, health care and social assistance, construction, and accommodation and food services.
BOOK & BLOG SPOTLIGHT
Well, that was certainly an uncomfortably cold and miserable month! Fortunately, I was as prepared as I could be thanks to “Pivot Points” by Paul T. Martin.
First, a couple of words regarding Paul. Paul is a lawyer by trade, and he works in government relations for a reinsurance trade association. I met Paul a few years back, soon after arriving in Texas. In January 2020, I had the extremely good fortune of attending a community preparedness meet-up that he led at a large church in Austin. It was a very informative morning, filled with recommendations on everything from tools and gear to calorie count spreadsheets, from checklists to a preparedness binder, from phone apps to generator recommendations, etc.
As I look back at the morning, I am most amazed at an extremely prescient statement and recommendation Paul made to all of us. He stated that he follows the pricing and availability of everything he recommends and that in the last month he has seen the prices of N-95 and N-100 masks increase dramatically. He wasn’t sure of the reason, but he implored each of to buy what we could upon returning home from the meet-up.
Shortly thereafter, I purchased a couple of cases of N-100’s and a few hundred N-95’s. I am eternally grateful for this as I was able to supply my family with much needed PPE in the wake of Covid-19. And when I say grateful, I mean it. My mom struggles with COPD and my sister is a nurse whose hospital didn’t have enough PPE for her as she worked in a Covid unit. Truly, I believe Paul’s recommendation saved lives.
DISCLAIMER
All data included is from publicly available sources with attribution made whenever and wherever possible. In some instances, article links will take you to a paid source. Please follow support all of the linked sources. Each is definitely worth a subscription and some sort of support.