Rent Hikes, Construction Next for Rebound

"What I'm starting to see in 2006 is the recovery period really got some traction," Jack Eimer, president of the Central region for Transwestern Commercial Services, tells GlobeSt.com. "This was our first definite year of a recovery for all aspects of our business and deep absorption numbers. Almost all submarkets really have shown that the recovery has stabilized and will be maintained."

Eimer will get to test out his street-savvy observations Tuesday as the moderator of a town hall meeting, part of the agenda for RealShare Dallas, the fifth anniversary of the conference series' pit stop in North Texas. The town hall panelists will be Eric Beichler, managing partner for Mohr Partners Inc.; Mark Gibson, executive managing director of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler; Brian O'Boyle, principal of Apartment Realty Advisors; Michael Lewis, senior vice president for Crescent Real Estate Equities Inc.; and Denton Walker, senior managing director of Trammell Crow Co.

The reward for property owners who've stayed the course through several flat years is rents are going up and vacancies are going down. "We've reached that point where rental growth is a reality," Eimer says. "The fact is from a landlord's standpoint, it's not been a great three, four or five years."

Eimer says what can't be overlooked, though, are the high prices that properties have been commanding throughout the nation's unofficial recession due to the increased liquidity in the market. Investment sales, much like the tenant reps, have been driving record-breaking deals for several years. With the pendulum shifting, so too will supply and demand in key submarkets, he says. Some pockets could even end up "under balanced," he asserts, adding the transition will validate the need for more space in some pockets.

"Will there be overbuilding this time? How deep will this surge in demand be," Eimer says. "Those will be the areas we'll definitely address at this town hall meeting."

The RealShare Conference Series is a production of Real Estate Media, publisher of GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum. This year's Dallas conference will be held at the Westin Galleria at 13340 Dallas Parkway.