Far East Winds for Far West Texas

NEW YORK (Bloomberg News) – Plans for a $1.5 billion West Texas wind farm mark the largest Chinese-American investment in U.S. renewable energy to date.

U.S. Renewable Energy and Austin-based Cielo Wind Power last month formed the venture with China's Shenyang Power Group.

Cielo is the developer of the wind farm, which would be built on 36,000 acres in West Texas and financed by Chinese banks. The partners were seeking $480 million of federal stimulus money to help fund the project.

SABOR CEO Receives Magel Award

SAN DIEGO (San Antonio Board of Realtors, National Association of Realtors) –  San Antonio Board of Realtors (SABOR) CEO Travis Kessler received the William R. Magel Award at the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) annual convention earlier this week, becoming the second Texas Realtor to receive the award since its inception in 1983.

The William R. Magel Award is the highest honor NAR bestows on a Realtor association executive officer. It acknowledges an individual who has excelled in his or her role as an association executive of a local or state association of Realtors.

Kessler has been CEO of SABOR since 1997 and has served in Realtor association management over the last 30 years.

Benny McMahan, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Realtors, was the recipient two years ago.

Be the First to Know

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Scoop the competition by being among the first to receive Real Estate Center news releases. Either sign yourself up by going to http://recenter.tamu.edu/news/ or just send us an e-mail and say "sign me up."

In the digital age, even a few minutes head start is big. Whether you write or edit a national periodical, a local newspaper or even a newsletter for real estate clients, this is the fastest way to ensure you are among the first to know what we know.

Houston Commercial Sales Down 84 Percent

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal) – Total sales of commercial properties valued over $2.5 million between Sept. 30, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, fell 84 percent, according to LoopNet Inc. and Real Capital Analytics.

Office property sales totaled $459 million, down from $2 billion in the year-long period ending in September 2008. The average price per sf fell from $155 in 2008 to $77 in 2009.

Retail property sales, at $409 million, were less than half of 2008’s $859 million figure. Price per sf also fell from $153 to $106.

Multifamily property sales in Houston fell from $2.6 billion to $742 million, but the price per unit increased from $49,284 to $55,142.

Industrial sales slipped from $697 million in 2008 to $140 million this year. Warehouse price per sf increased from $44 to $75.

Prestige Ameritech Consolidates

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS (Dallas Morning News) – Prestige Ameritech has leased a 220,000-sf manufacturing facility at 7201 Iron Horse Blvd.

The maker of surgical masks will consolidate its production and distribution operations from multiple sites in early 2010.

Prestige expects to bring about 400 jobs to the North Richland Hills facility by 2015.

Lee & Associates negotiated the new lease.

San Marcos Water Contract in Works

SAN MARCOS (Austin American-Statesman) – Rapid development has persuaded the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) into negotiations with water developer End-Op to deliver up to 45 million gallons of water per day to the San Marcos area.

The GBRA would buy water from End-Op and then pay as much as $100 million to build a pipeline to transport the water from Bastrop and Lee Counties. Additionally, the river authority could spend millions more to buy the water rights and wells from End-Op.

The GBRA’s board will review a letter of intent in December and at the same time issue a request for financing and pipeline construction bids. The letter could tie the river authority to End-Op for groundwater supplies for at least two years while they negotiate a long-term contract.

Current costumers will continue to pay their contracted rates, but the cost of new supplies of wholesale water for GBRA customers will more than quadruple to as much as $500 an acre-foot, which is about equal to the amount used by three average Austin households per year.

Avant Makes Pflugerville Move

PFLUGERVILLE (Austin Business Journal) – Avant Technology Inc. is moving its manufacturing operations from Austin to the one million-sf Verde Springbrook Corporate Center.

Avant has agreed to maintain its operations in Pflugerville for at least five years. In exchange, the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. will pay up to $568,500 in incentives for completion of Avant’s facility and $143,042 to Avant for manufacturing equipment.

The technology group, a division of Austin-based ACI Group, will move 150 jobs to the city by January.

Westin Enters The Domain

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal, Starwood Hotels) – Simon Property Group Inc. and White Lodging have partnered to bring a 340-room Westin hotel to The Domain.

It will have 14,000 sf of meeting space and open in March 2010, making it the first Westin in Austin.

See past RECON articles to review The Domain's development.

Texas Lone Star Not Alone

SAN ANTONIO (Forbes Travel Guide) – Seven Texas hotels received Forbes Travel Guide’s 2010 Forbes Four Star Award, and one hotel received five stars.

Those receiving the four-star distinction include the Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Four Seasons Hotel Houston, Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, Houston’s Hotel Granduca, The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, The St. Regis, Houston and the Watermark Hotel and Spa in San Antonio.

The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas was the only Texas hotel to be marked with five stars by Forbes.

Malls Could Be Saved

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – Mortgage restructuring worth $8.9 billion could save two area malls owned by General Growth Properties from bankruptcy.

Deerbrook Mall and The Woodlands Mall were two of 158 regional General Growth-owned properties that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April.

The agreements, covering loans for more than 70 malls, could enable some centers to escape bankruptcy by the end of the year and extend loan due dates to January 2014 or as far back as 2018.

Facebook Draws Annual Report Hopefuls

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Many RECON readers visited our Facebook page earlier this week hoping to win a copy of our annual report. Some even stuck around and became our latest "Facebook friends."

If you're just now joining the game, you might be wondering why people are falling over themselves to nab an annual report. Trust us, this is one annual report you'll want to display on your wall, because it comes with a stunning 12-month calendar featuring Texas photographs taken by Real Estate Center staff members.

You can view most of the calendar photos at our online store. You can even purchase an annual report/calendar for $4.95 while supplies last.

Tuesday's winners were Jay Cisneros, Allen Cockrell, Dorcas Ross, Michael Traber, Katy E. Moore, Ken Combs, Debbie Gill, Butch Reynolds, Valerie Ann De La Rosa and Madeline Stiles. Your annual reports are on their way.

The answer to Tuesday's question — What's the name of the Center video that was posted on our Facebook page Nov. 11? — was "The Sign." (A fun little video, by the way. See for yourself.)

Today's question: What was the population density for Wichita Falls in 2008, according to our Market Report for that city?

Send your responses to bpope@mays.tamu.edu. Don't forget to include your mailing address.

October Home Starts Fall, But Forecast Fair

WASHINGTON (Associated Press, Austin Business Journal) – After a month of falling housing starts in October, the forecast for 2010 is looking up.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 from 592,000 in September.

Applications for building permits fell 4 percent to an annual rate of 552,000 units, the lowest since May. However, permits for single-family homes specifically fell only 0.2 percent.

November was a cautious month for residential developers, according to the National Association of Home Builders, whose housing market index remained at 17 for the second straight month. Index readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment about the market.

October and November follow sharp home-start increases in the summer and early fall, particularly in Texas, according to Metrostudy. The market research firm predicts 558,000 starts for 2009 nationally, with 440,000 single-family starts alone. It predicts a total of 719,000 residential starts for 2010.

I-35 Expansion Funding Approved

AUSTIN (Waco Tribune) – A panel of state transportation officials yesterday unanimously approved spending over half of $2 billion in voter-approved bond money to widen six stretches of I-35 in Central Texas.

Voters approved this proposition in 2007, authorizing $5 billion in borrowing for highway projects.

Texas Department of Transportation Commission staff members have recommended that McLennan, Bell and Hill counties receive almost $1.1 billion to add two lanes to the interstate’s four in Salado, from north Temple to Hewitt and from Lacy-Lakeview to Abbott.

ULI Conference Speaker Presentations Available

HOUSTON (Urban Land Institute Houston) – Speakers' presentations from last week's Economic Forecast Conference in Houston are now available on Urban Land Institute (ULI) Houston's website.

The conference was sponsored by ULI Houston and the Real Estate Center.

Austin Home Sales' October Surge

AUSTIN (Austin Board of Realtors) – According to the Multiple Listing Service report by the Austin Board of Realtors, the volume of home sales in the Austin market surged last month, possibly because of the tax credit for first-time homebuyers.

Last month, 1,823 homes were sold, a 38 percent increase from 1,322 in October 2008. The median price of Austin homes in October 2009 was $182,000, a 5 percent decrease from the same month the previous year.

In the early part of this year, the home sales volume in Austin was down significantly compared with 2008. However, that gap in sales volume began to close in July 2009 when the local market reached a volume similar to the same month in the year prior.

“Sales volume like this is similar to what we saw in 2005, which is an encouraging sign,” said Jay Gohil, chairman of the Austin Board of Realtors. “It’s possible some of this surge in volume was related to the original deadline for the first-time homebuyer tax credit, so it’s good for our market that the tax credit was both extended until April and expanded to include more current and prospective homeowners.”