As the leading gateway markets become much too pricey,more yield-deprived capital edges into other places in search ofbetter returns. Pickings remain slim given compromised demandexcept in the apartment sector. It’s basically the same old story.Some investors get excited about energy and high tech markets wheresome modicum of high paying jobs get generated. They like the Texascities—Houston, Austin and the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex forenergy and San Francisco-San Jose, Seattle, the aforementionedAustin, Boston and the North Carolina Research Triangle for hightech.

Investors need to be careful when relying on either the energyor tech sectors, both of which prove volatile in the stock marketwith similar impacts on real estate. It’s taken Houston almost 20years to regain some luster after the early 1980s oil industrymeltdown. Both Dallas and Houston have been reasonably gooddevelopment markets, but investors struggle with low barriers toentry. Austin has 24-hour characteristics, the University of Texas,and a state capital to buttress energy and high tech businesses.That’s quite a powerful tenant demand-driver combination, but thecity is relatively small and lies one step removed from globalpathways (DFW Airport). No matter all the calls for U.S. energyindependence, domestic oil prices remain beholden to global marketsand the combustibility of Middle East hot spots as well as marketspeculators. The ups and downs are baked in, and the propertymarkets follow along.

On the high tech front, San Francisco already ranks as one ofthe country’s premier 24-hour cities. Its Silicon Valley connectionhas become a more important jobs creator as the city’s financialservices sector has been hit by recent consolidations and falloutfrom the credit crisis. Historically, the City by the Bay has beenprobably the most up-and-down of the global gateways with thebursting of the internet bubble 10 years ago knocking values downafter major spikes. The city now peaks again along with otherleading core markets, but should we be at all concerned about theflagging share prices of Facebook and Group On? And how many moreapps do we really need? Has Apple peaked after its Samsung victory?And how will the Android world fare going forward? Is this thebeginning of another correction or maybe the start of a bit of anindustry lull?