After rough 2020, is Austin s office market poised for a rebound?
The coronavirus pandemic isn t done battering the Central Texas office market, but local commercial brokers say they are seeing signs of that things could improve in the coming months.
Office vacancies were still on the rise and the rental rates being sought were flat in the fourth quarter, according to new industry reports. Office leasing remains far below 2019 s pace, and in line with the leasing activity seen during the last recession, according to CoStar Group, a real estate data company.
But some local office brokers say 2021 could see a turnaround – albeit a gradual one –for the market. Demand for office space has started to pick up again, they say, although it remains below what it was pre-pandemic.
Amid a booming Central Texas housing market, a high-profile Austin-based developer known for its central-city residential projects is about to kick off its latest – a $50 million development that will bring 116 homes to East Austin.
StoryBuilt said it plans to start construction next month on the new development, called George. It s named after an 18-year-old red-lored parrot that StoryBuilt is sponsoring at the Austin Zoo.
The project will have 80 townhomes and flats, along with 36 single-family homes. It will be located at 2211 E M Franklin Avenue, between East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Manor Road in central East Austin, an area that is continuing to transform with new development.
As builders scrambled to keep up with demand, housing construction in Central Texas reached record levels in 2020, with home starts – and the median sales price of those new-homes – hitting all-time highs.
Industry experts say 2021 could mirror the housing market s recurring themes: high demand, low supply, and – to many buyers dismay – rising prices.
The median sale price for newly built homes in the Austin metro area last year was $313,594 – meaning half sold for more than that amount and half sold for less. The $313,594 was a 4.4% increase over 2019 s median price and a record for the area, according to industry firm Zonda, which tracks the housing market in the five-county Austin region that spans Georgetown to San Marcos.
Yet another high-rise is planned for downtown Austin, as the area s real estate market keeps booming despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The new 50-story tower is to be built at West Fifth and Colorado streets, and plans call for a mix of residential and office space. The project is being developed by an affiliate of Stonelake Capital Partners.
The working name for the development is “5th & Colorado.” Stonelake said the proposed project s full branding and identity will be announced later. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for the first quarter of 2022, with the tower scheduled to be completed early in 2025.
Stonelake isn t commenting on the project s estimated cost or financing details.
The arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine might be raising hopes for a return to normalcy for Central Texas businesses – but it s also creating confusion and uncertainty for employers and employees alike as they deal with the uneven rollout and try to navigate a sea of conflicting state and local guidelines.
Companies large and small – across a range of industries – are grappling with how to handle the vaccine s distribution for their workforces.
Experts say in many cases employers can require workers to receive the vaccine, but there are exceptions, such as for medical or religious reasons, or a disability.
In the case of a disability, the employer would have to try to make an accommodation, such as continued work from home or continued mask wearing, said Tony Stergio, a Houston-based attorney specializing in employment law.