HOUSTON-Retail absorption across the Bayou City is the strongest it's been since 2000, driving vacancy to its lowest point in three years. But next year, absorption will probably slow because development is expected to wane.

DALLAS- Brinker International resolves its dispute with the Internal Revenue Service and changes its accounting practices for rent.

PHOENIX-Bascom Arizona Ventures and Rockwood Capital team to buy Wyndham Park Apartments, spending $28,200 per door to get a foothold in a neighborhood where the going rate is $85,000 per unit. The play comes with a $2.5-million rehab.

HOUSTON-A private investor from Los Angeles acquires Duke Energy Corp.'s headquarters for $84.6 million. The 614,000-sf, class A office building is net leased for another 15 years and is a zero-cash flow investment.

PEORIA, AZ-With a 30,000-sf Gold's Gym to seed the development, a Las Vegas-based developer pays $3.1 million for 8.7 acres at the junction of 83rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road. The Marketplace at Thunderbird will break ground early next year.

TUCSON-A 1031 Exchange buyer shells out $4.5 million for the inroad, getting the 114-unit Catalina Palms, a class B complex with an 85% occupancy that drew eight offers. Cash flow and significant renovations, inside and out, help to fuel the interest.

HOUSTON-Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. now has full control of 4.5 million sf of class A office space in Houston Center. Sources say the REIT has paid close to $100 million for the 1.2 million, 51-story tower, now tagged as a JV candidate.

HOUSTON-Canfield Houston, an affiliate of New York City-based Cannon Development, will pay $10.9 million in early January for the 346-unit Cypress Parke, beating out a dozen others for the 92%-leased asset on the city's north side.