HOUSTON-An American Title Co. attorney and a dry goods distributor have taken spots in the city's northwest and north submarkets, respectively. New Island Trading Co. has signed for the largest space, eyeing a move to Airline Drive.

HOUSTON-William E. Cooper Inc. has struck a sale-leaseback deal for the one-year-old, 108,924-sf FedEx Ground Building in northwest Houston. Cooper has closed a $2.2 million financing package for the acquisition while FedEx has inked a 10-year lease.

HOUSTON-EZCorp has retained a Houston company to dispose of 45 pawnshops as it lines up sale-leaseback deals so it can eliminate a secured line of credit. Twenty have been sold in just four months and the balance could be gone in 90 to 120 days.

HOUSTON-Smaller freestanding warehouses are hot tickets in Houston, says a Grubb & Ellis broker who has inked two more pacts in the steadily growing trend. The tenants have inked deals for a total of 22,000 sf and terms of five and three years.

HOUSTON-Caldwell Watson has acquired its seventh building in Northchase Business Park. The 85,213-sf One Northchase Park is located on 3.5 acres, a holding valued at more than $3.6 million, according to the Harris County assessor's office.

PASADENA, TX-Best Buy, based in Minneapolis, will be adding its 46th Texas store in a 45,000-sf location in Pasadena. The lease is one of 60 new locations that the retailer is opening this year in the US.

HOUSTON-Dr. Barton A. Smith of the University of Houston's Center for Public Policy has collated data that shows the office vacancy rate is dropping and will continue to do so through 2006. By 2003, it will be below 10%.

HOUSTON-A 3,750-sf office-warehouse has changed hands in the city's far southwest submarket. The holding is situated near the intersection of Texas 59 and the Sam Houston Tollway, in the city's fifth-largest industrial corridor.