Continued uncertainty surrounding fiscal, tax and political policy weighed on investor decisions according to the third quarter Marcus & Millichap/NREI investor sentiment survey. Despite increased caution, steady apartment and commercial real estate space demand counterbalanced a portion of the uncertainty, containing the decline in sentiment. Though some investors have stepped to the sidelines to await additional policy clarity, many see this as a window of opportunity, with less competition for assets–59% of surveyed investors plan to increase commercial real estate investments during the next 12 months. Most investors anticipate steady economic growth in 2017 and 2018, but 92% of surveyed investors cited rising interest rates as a concern for the coming year. Respondents believe reduced regulations and lower taxes will benefit commercial real estate, but considered trade protection and more stringent immigration policies to be less favorable for these assets. Given the high demand for e-commerce and logistics facilities in Texas and elsewhere, it is no surprise that industrial investors are presently the most optimistic about future asset appreciation, followed by apartment and hotel investors, according to the report.—Lisa Brown

NEWS AND NOTABLES

AUSTIN, TX—Joining Cushman & Wakefield are Todd Mills, Carrie Caesar and Hunter Mills, all formerly with CBRE. Mills, former executive vice president at CBRE, joined that firm in 1994 and has dedicated his entire professional career to investment property sales in the Austin and San Antonio markets. Caesar, former first vice president at CBRE, a firm she joined in 2000, has been active in the San Antonio commercial real estate market since 1991. Mills, former vice president at CBRE, joined that firm in 2010.

AUSTIN, TX—Privately-owned mortgage banking firm, 360 Mortgage Group LLC, announced its continued expansion into the direct-to-consumer online mortgage space with the launch of the NOLO platform. Short for No Originating Loan Officer, the NOLO platform allows customers to complete the mortgage lending process entirely online without the industry standard loan officer interference at each step. With NOLO, mortgage customers receive a true loan approval in 15 minutes on average, and can cut down the purchase mortgage closing process to as few as eight days.

DALLAS—Kris Knapstein has more than 13 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and will serve as a senior portfolio account manager with Savills Studley focused on domestic and global accounts. Knapstein comes to Savills Studley from Cushman & Wakefield, where he began his commercial real estate career in 2004 and gained significant experience working with industrial, office and retail portfolios. He has overseen the management of key client relationships, as well as reporting, resource allocation, service line integration and delivery. Knapstein has served an extensive roster of clients including 7-Eleven, AZZ Inc., Benjamin Moore & Co., FastSigns International, The UPS Store, FleetPride, PrimeLending and Western Specialty Contractors. He will be based in the Dallas office but work on a team with professionals based in Dallas and Phoenix.

HOUSTON—McCarthy Building Companies' Houston Division was recently awarded the 2017 Diamond STEP (Safety Training and Evaluation Process) Award, by the Houston Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors. The purpose of the award is to identify businesses that demonstrate commitment to jobsite safety and exhibit exemplary safety performance. Winning the Diamond STEP award automatically enters McCarthy into the ABC National Safety Excellence Award competition.

DEAL TRACKER

ADDISON, TX—Citadel Partners represented Mayse & Associates in a 9,000-square-foot office lease at The Belvedere, 14881 Quorum Dr. This will be the corporate office for Mayse & Associates. Andy Goldston and Taylor Dickerson of Citadel and Tim Terrell of Stream Realty represented the tenant. Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.

AUSTIN, TX—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP announces the sale of a three-property class-A medical office portfolio totaling 137,686 square feet in Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. The HFF team marketed the property on behalf of the seller, IRA Capital LLC, and procured the buyer, a publicly traded healthcare REIT. The portfolio comprises The Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders and Baylor Health Center at Magnolia Greens in Dallas-Fort Worth and Cedar Park Medical Center in Austin. The fully leased buildings boast a mix of best-in-class local, regional and national tenants backed by major health systems and top-rated healthcare providers.

AUSTIN, TX—Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP announces the closing of the sale of the Hotel Indigo Austin Downtown–University and Holiday Inn Express Austin Downtown University, a 305-room, dual-branded hotel, completed in 2016. The HFF team marketed the property on behalf of the seller, Journeyman Group. Nimes Real Estate purchased the property unencumbered of an existing management agreement.

BENTON, AR—GBT Realty has announced the completion of three retail centers at 525,000 square feet total and more than $100 million in commercial real estate investment in Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas (more than 250,000 square feet in Oklahoma and Arkansas). Tenants at all three centers are set to open by the end of the year. The Shoppes of Benton (Arkansas): 170,000 square feet—the first commercial project to engage in partnership with the Utilities Commission to improve infrastructure. Silver Lake Village (Oklahoma): 85,000 square feet—brought many first-to-market retailers to this once bedroom community.

BROWNSVILLE, TX—Las Resacas, a 92-unit multifamily property located at 275 Morningside Rd., has sold. Mike Moffitt Jr., first vice president investments in Marcus & Millichap's Austin office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer, an individual/personal trust, was also secured by Moffitt.

HOUSTON—Stream Realty Partners has secured a lease totaling approximately 16,210 rentable square feet for Pape-Dawson Consulting Engineers Inc. at 10350 Richmond Ave., Towers at Westchase II. Anthony Squillante and Josh Morrow with Stream represented the tenant, and Brad Fricks and Ryan Bishop with Stream represented the landlord, FSP Westchase LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Street Properties Corp.

HOUSTON—Nine Energy Service Inc. signed a new 12,416-square-foot office lease at the River Oaks Bank Building, 2001 Kirby Dr. Diana Bridger of JLL represented the tenant, and Chris Lewis and Jill Nesloney of Lee & Associates–Houston represented the landlord.

HOUSTON—Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T) signed a 10,167-square-foot office lease at 520 Post Oak Blvd. Lonna Dorman and Justin Leighton of Transwestern represented BB&T. Chris Lewis and Jill Nesloney of Lee & Associates–Houston represented the landlord, Griffin Partners.

HOUSTON—Lee & Associates–Houston represented Luceco Inc., a LED light distribution and manufacturing company, in a 55,135-square-foot industrial warehouse sublease at 3010 Claymoore Park Dr. near the Sam Houston Tollway. Preston Yaggi of Lee & Associates–Houston represented the sublessee, and Adam Wollinetz, David Buescher and Geoff Perrot of JLL represented the sublessor, Kellogg Sales Company.

HOUSTON—Lee & Associates–Houston represented Mercantile Investment Corporation in a 4,700-square-foot office building lease at 6110 Pinemont Dr., suite B. Robert Noack and Patrick Wolford of Lee & Associates–Houston represented the landlord. The tenant, DebLin Health Concepts & Associates Inc., was self-represented.

HOUSTON—Lee & Associates–Houston arranged a 5,100-square-foot industrial building sale in Seton Business Park located at 10403 Kansack Ln. Chase Cribbs and Cameron Hicks of Lee & Associates–Houston represented the buyer, Marlin Construction LLC, and Patrick Wolford of Lee & Associates–Houston and Mark Ward of The National Realty Group Inc. represented the seller, Robco Seton Lake LLC.

SUGAR LAND, TX—Biotechnology Solutions signed a new 15,300-square-foot industrial lease, located in the Sugar Land Business Park at 12625 W. Airport Blvd. Chris Lewis and Jill Nesloney of Lee & Associates–Houston represented the landlord, Griffin Partners.

NEWS AND NOTABLES

DEAL TRACKER

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