Industrial Scarce, Office Tight, Restaurants Being Replaced

NAI Partners recently had its inaugural press luncheon, during which Austin commercial real estate experts discussed trends taking place throughout the metro. David Dawkins and Todd Mahler (office), Troy Martin (industrial), and Stephen Wentworth (retail) discussed the following:

Office. Dawkins said that five years ago, a 500,000-square-foot building would take some time to lease up. These days, “these types of spaces not only are filled very quickly, but are fewer and farther between,” he commented.

Industrial.  Though warehouse distribution space of 20,000 square feet and higher is available, “trying to find a small building, say 3,000 square feet of industrial anywhere near downtown, is virtually impossible,” Martin said.

Retail. Legacy restaurants are being replaced due to “the sheer volume of new developers coming in and kicking out long-established, neighborhood restaurants,” Wentworth said. Also problematic are continuing increases in taxes and rents, making it “a challenging pill to swallow for many a smaller restaurateur and retailer,” he added.

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