Why Californians Love Investing in Texas
Austin doesn't have the population just yet to be a Tier 1 market, but it's still on investors' radars—especially Californians. (Even LA's Kobe Bryant wishes he was like Texas.)
St. Croix Capital Realty Advisors CEO Ken Satterlee (pictured at a Bisnow event) says there's a comfort level and association that Californians feel here because the city resembles—at least culturally—California cities. Earlier this month, St. Croix closed $60M in transactions for a California-based investor and anticipates wrapping up another $40M in deals for the same investor in the next 90 days. The transactions are part of a 1031 exchange in which the buyer disposed of some Southern California properties and bought two flex buildings totaling 50k SF at Promontory Point (2621 Ridgepoint Dr in Austin, pictured) and the 115k SF University Business Center five-building flex project (3019 Alvin Devane Blvd in Austin) and a plot of land in Big Spring with plans to build a 35k SF office building. Ken tells us the buyer has other assets in Texas and is exiting his California properties, largely because of the choking business environment in California.  He anticipates even more investment transactions in the Austin area. Investors will want to complete a few more deals before the cycle changes, he says. Additionally, all signs point to the Fed raising interest rates this year, likely in the fall. So, Ken says, buyers will want to hurry to make deals and beat the clock. Even though the interest rate hikes will be almost imperceptible, there will likely be a lull in transactions for a few months after the increases. When he's not making deals, Ken plays on two men's baseball teams (about 50 games each year).
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Top stories on Bisnow.com
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How Do You Brand Your New Space?
These days, having a young brand has great value. Austin being what it is right now, creative office designer Sandy Tipton has many clients who are considered startups. She tells us that these new companies are growing at a fast clip, and it is critical for them to communicate their brand and culture to the world in order to recruit and retain the appropriate talent. S. Tipton Studio, specializing in design and architectural services for commercial office space, works closely with its clients to creatively incorporate their brand into their space. The challenge is to get to know the clients well enough to understand their brand goals so that the space communicates and reinforces those goals effectively. For more information on our Bisnow partner, click here.
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Everyone's Favorite Loan, Part 1:
Agency Structured ARMs for Multifamily
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Job and population growth across Texas is keeping multifamily the preferred asset type for institutional and private investors, says CBRE's Jim Kirkpatrick (left, with his wife at their daughter's wedding). With that, he's seeing a lot of multifamily sponsors gravitating to the agency structured ARMs. His debt and structured finance team has been doing seven- and 10-year terms floating over LIBOR. With some interest only, these loans are a great way to enhance their yield, he says. Plus, with structured prepay and the ability to fix the rate, borrowers can limit their rate risk exposure, too. |
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Jim says a good example of these deals is the $45M loan for a JV of RailField Realty Partners and Artemis Real Estate of the 612-unit Class-A Signature Ridge (pictured) multifamily community at 3711 Medical Dr in San Antonio. The loan carries a 10-year floating-rate term, with five years of interest-only, and an approximate loan to value of 70%. Financing was provided by Fannie Mae. |
What You Don't Know About Carrie Caesar
 Title/Company: First VP, CBRE
Pictured: Last summer in Runaway Bay, Jamaica, with her kids, Callie and Logan. It was her best vacation ever!
Favorite Hobby: Longtime favorite is bay fishing, but this past year she took up refinishing furniture. She enjoys going to auctions and rummage junk shops to find the items.
Recent Deal: New sales listing for three fully leased retail centers, available as a portfolio or individual sales, in Kenedy and Hondo, Texas
Other Gig: 2015 CREW San Antonio president
Goals for CREW: Growing membership and networking opportunities and finding additional ways to give back to the members.
Last Movie Watched: The Imitation Game
If she weren't in real estate, she'd: "I honestly have no idea as real estate is what I know and I have been active in it for so long and enjoy it tremendously. I have never given any real thought to what else I would want to do—maybe some kind of furniture restoration/repurpose business (in line with my new hobby)."
Bucket List: She's traveled a lot, but her bucket list is full of other places she'd like to see and experience around the US and the world.
Phobia: Snakes of any kind or size
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Austin's Largest Hotel Opens
JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts opened its first property in Austin Friday. The 34-story JW Marriott Austin is not only the city's largest hotel, but also the largest JW Marriott in North America and the second-largest JW Marriott in the world. The LEED Silver (and a two-star Austin Energy Green Building) hotel features 1,012 rooms and a fifth-floor pool deck and bar, stellar views, a full-service Starbucks and more. A highly anticipated player in Austin's burgeoning culinary scene, the hotel will also feature three restaurants—Osteria Pronto, Corner and Burger Bar. The hotel is on the square block bounded by Second and Third streets and Brazos Street and Congress Avenue in Downtown Austin. Here's a slideshow look at the hotel's features in the Austin Business Journal. |
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Be Innovative: Learn the Latest About Creative Offices in Austin
We all know that the creative juices flow in Austin and we even have the proof: Forbes ranked the city as the fourth most creative large city in the US last year. Bisnow wants to help you find the secrets for creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, so we're hosting our first Austin Office of the Future; Creative Office's Impact on the Market event on Feb. 26 (7:30am start) at the Hyatt Regency Austin. We have assembled some of the region's top owners, developers, investors and brokers to give you a look at what it takes to be innovative. Among our speakers are HPI managing director Jeff Pace, Cousins SVP Tim Hendricks, WeWork VP Matthew Shampine, Environmental Systems Design's Jason Schultz and RetailMeNot global facilities director Jeanne McNeil. You can save your place by registering here. |
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New Bisnow Video:
The Art of Negotiation!
Three Reasons to Watch Our Latest Video, "The Art of Negotiation" with Dr. Peter Linneman:
1. If they don't let you expense it at first, you'll be able to negotiate that later.
2. Knowing how to negotiate your compensation will always be useful.
3. It may help you talk your way out of a parking ticket.*
(*Not guaranteed)
You'll also learn about how to negotiate a real estate deal. From learning what your opponent wants to getting what you want, Dr. Linneman explains more than just the basics behind the Art of Negotiation. Watch a sample here. (And check out all of our videos here.) Order yours, and for training program group licenses, email Will Friend at will@bisnow.com. |
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