AUSTIN—On the eve of the inaugural RealShare Austin conference, GlobeSt.com spoke with many panelists about the current state of CRE in the Capital City. Here's what they had to share, sure to be just the tip of the conversational iceberg at today's conference at the W Austin:

Nate Paul, president, CEO and founder, World Class Capital Group:

“The Austin market is hotter than it has ever been. The market is currently in a state of self-discovery. The market is evolving rapidly as the demand-drivers continue to rise and existing product is absorbed.”

Mike Kennedy, managing director/principal, Avison Young:

“Traffic, transit options, city of Austin permitting aside, the biggest issue affecting Austin development currently is enough supply being delivered to meet demand. An issue soon will be affordability as rental rates move towards major tech market pricing that could be challenging for some employers. That will likely push growth to the exurbs of San Marcos, Bastrop, Marble Falls, Round Rock and Georgetown.”

Michael Fransen, senior vice president, managing director, Parkway Properties:

“I would describe Austin as super-promising adolescent city…old enough to have shown some true and amazingly bright promise [tremendous and growing demographics, great economic drivers and strong overall welcoming culture] of more greatness to come, but not so mature and far enough along to be a couple of poor decisions away from risking ever reaching its full long-term potential.”

Matt Levin, managing principal/broker, ECR:

“I am particularly excited about the continued urban growth planned for downtown Austin and East Austin. East Austin has an incredible creative energy, and the mix of new construction and adaptive re-use of buildings is wonderful." 

Brandon Easterling, managing director, Alliance Residential:

“Being a fan of real estate in general, I am eager to see how both the Seaholm and Green Water projects turn out. Additionally, I am very excited about my 422 @ the Lake project, which is under construction right now on the site of the former RunTex shop at Riverside and S. 1^st Street.”