Despite Office Fallout, Land Sells in Well-Placed Parks

Sugar Land Business Park is a 1,000 acre deed-restricted business park.

SUGAR LAND, TX—While the deep oil downturn continues to be a governing force for the local economy, the Houston metro led the nation in population growth for the second consecutive year, driving demand in consumer sectors such as healthcare and retail, according to Transwestern’s first quarter outlook reports. Now seven quarters into an economic downturn, the office and multifamily markets will record further softness this year due to weak job growth and additional supply.

While Houston’s office and multifamily markets are the hardest hit, retail, healthcare and industrial are still performing well. This softness will likely continue through 2016 and 2017 as the true impact of the downturn becomes more evident.