BIG Blog

It was no surprise to us that Austin and Round Rock ranked as two of the fastest growing cities in new census data released last week.

Round Rock ranks No. 2 with a population of more than 100,000 and a 4.8 percent increase, and Austin ranks third with 3.8 percent growth and more than 820,000 residents.

Other Texas cities to make the top 15 are Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Denton, McAllen and Carollton. Read full article, here.

It was no surprise to us that Austin and Round Rock ranked as two of the fastest growing cities in new census data released last week.

Round Rock ranks No. 2 with a population of more than 100,000 and a 4.8 percent increase, and Austin ranks third with 3.8 percent growth and more than 820,000 residents.

Other Texas cities to make the top 15 are Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Denton, McAllen and Carollton. Read full article, here.

The Austin office space market continues to be strong in the second quarter of 2012. Class A occupancy is now at 84.4% from 80.2 percent a year ago. Rents have increased to $29.37/SF from $28.24/SF a year ago. Commercial real estate development has been picking up as well with over

10 million square feet of office space being planned per Charles Heimsath of Capitol Market Research.

The Austin Business Journal article ranked Austin again at #1 as the the strongest local economy in the United States. The index measures relative vitality of 102 major markets with more than 500,000 population. The private sector jobs in Austin grew by 10.1 percent. The unemployment rate

remains low at 5.4 percent. The retail sector employment has jumped 9.2 percent since 2008, which is the largest increase anywhere in the country. On a side note, we are seeing a large amount of relocation here and the housing demand is strong. Most properties that are priced well and in good locations are receiving multiple offers now. Here is the full article link:

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2013/04/austin-provo-once-again-run-1-2-in-on.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article

Commercial real estate in Austin has come back in a big way since the doldrums of the recession. Commercial vacancies across market types continue to drop and investor interest is intense. Even the retail development and investment is clicking along on ally cylinders.

Read the full article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/2013/04/26/all-niches-of-commercial-real-estate.html?ana=e_ph_prem&u=RgRNa6jjrCIzmR3chtzgQA07c02fb7