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Retailing is changing, but it is still very much in fashion. It is now a tale of two markets. One is the large national retail corporations that have dozens, hundreds or thousands of store outlets nationwide. They can afford to pay the higher rents that are required to support new construction. The increases in 1. […]
Time for an overview of the commercial market place in San Antonio; subtitled “The stresses and strains of the New Normal.” Apartment construction has come back strongly since 2012, after the slump of the Great Recession. Occupancy is presently 92.6%, about the same as a year ago, and rents are up 3.6%, adding $30 per […]
Pop Quiz: What does “CPI” stand for? Answer: “Consumer Price Index.” What does this mean? It is designed to measure the change in prices of products that you and I buy every week; that is, it is a measure of “the cost of maintaining a constant standard of living, as determined by prices paid by […]
“Where have all the investment deals gone?” It’s a question that seems to be on investors’ minds these days, as they are looking for places to put their money to work. Everything they look at seems over-priced and there are not many selections from which to choose. I believe there are several issues that […]
While the international scene is confusing right now (QE 4-awhile longer, Russia vs Ukraine; China vs. Japan, Viet Nam, Philippines, et al), how are WE doing? The employment picture in San Antonio is excellent with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.8% from 5.2%, and hitting the mark last set in July 2008, and making San […]
For decades now, the U.S. economy has depended upon and been gaged by consumer consumption. Consumer spending is watched closely by economic analysts for swings and indications of the health of the economy. In the past few years, it has dipped because of the Great Recession and our desire to pay off debt and slim […]
Mexico’s Pemex oil company has vastly underperformed for years. It is state-owned and inefficient but since it is the biggest source of revenue for the Mexican government, next to payments from the U.S., it is critical to their stability and prosperity. What to do? Mexico is now opening to outside oil and gas producers for […]
It’s the turn of the year — time for reflection on the past year and looking forward to what will be. In my niche of commercial real estate in San Antonio, the year 2013 was a pretty good year as we have adjusted to the New Normal. Occupancies increased in all sectors of commercial real […]
Does this look like the front end of a Boom? Please turn your attention to the following newspaper articles. The San Antonio Business Journal Oct 16, 2013 San Antonio’s housing prices were up 2.1%, the largest month over month increase for U.S. cities. Also from SABJ Oct 16 – San Antonio housing inventory hits an […]
Last Year I presented the proposal that because of Texas’ gross product and rate of growth, we can be considered the equal of many “Emerging Market” countries. Please look at the following chart, taken from “Business Insider.” It illustrates how Texas has become the 13th largest oil producer in the world, if (only) Texas was a […]
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