Dallas, TX - North Plano, Frisco Real Estate Development Pipeline

There is quite a bit of development activity going on in the North Plano/Frisco area where Legacy Business Park butts up to Stonebriar Centre. Developers have been taking advantage of the available land, favorable demographics, and close proximity to major employment centers. Included in this article is a demographic snapshot of the area, a synopsis of the nearby major employment centers, and a summary of the real estate development activity in the pipeline.

Demographic Snapshot: The demographic profile for residents in this area is as follows:

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Population- As of the 2nd quarter of 2008, the population of this area was 12,336 people in a total of 5,027 households (avg. HH size of 2.4 people). This represents a population growth of 89% since census 2000.

Ethnicity- 85% White, 2% Black, 5% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 1% Other.

Income Level- Approximately 90% of residents within this geography fit into "High Income" categories. MarketAtlas breaks down the residents in this area into the following 8 categories: 42% are High Earners, 22% are Young Professionals, 15% are Upper Middle Families, 11% are Upper Middle Class, 3% are Middle America, 3% are Blue Collar, 3% are Lowest Income, and 2% are Lower Income.

Major Employers: Several major employers make this an attractive area for real estate development. The following is a summary of the employment centers that can be seen in the MarketAtlas screen shot below.

Retail- Stonebriar Centre is a regional mall and the main retail attraction in the vicinity. It is anchored by Macy's, Sears, Nordstrom, Dillard's, JC Penny & Dick's Sporting Goods. The Centre at Preston Ridge is a big box retail center across Gaylord Parkway and includes retailers such as Super Target, Best Buy, Floor Expo, Staples, Marshalls, Old Navy, Ross, etc. Other retailers in the immediate area include IKEA, Office Max, Michaels, WalMart, Sam's Club, Home Depot, LA Fitness, Sports Authority, Bed Bath & Beyond, Maytag, Circuit City, Office Depot, JoAnn and Lowe's.

Office- Legacy Business Park, on the south side of HWY 121, is a 2,655 acre business park that includes tenants such as the JC Penny Corporate Headquarters, Frito Lay Corporate Headquarters, Electronic Data Systems Corporate Headquarters, Lincoln Property Co., Ericsson, PepsiCo, Verizon, Cingular Wireless, Capital One, and many others. To the north of HWY 121, Hall Financial owns a 162-acre business park that houses tenants such as GE, Kimberly Clark and Levi Strauss. North of Warren Parkway, Duke Realty owns a 3 building office complex on a large site where they plan to build an additional 4 buildings.

Real Estate Development Pipeline: There are 7 projects in differing phases of the development process within the subject area.

Village 121- Lincoln Property Co. is planning to build an 80-acre mixed use project at the intersection of Preston Road & HWY 121. Plans include 500k sqft of retail, 150k sqft of office, a 250 room boutique hotel, and an unknown quantity of residential units. IPic Entertainment is also planning to build a 60k sqft movie theater, restaurant bar and bowling center on the site.

High Street at Stonebriar- The Ainbinder Co. is planning to build a 550k sqft, 0MM mixed use project on as 35-acre site directly west of Village 121 (Parkwood Blvd. & HWY 121). Plans include 250k sqft of retail, 100k sqft of office, and a hotel. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2009 with completion in 2010. The Container Store has already been identified as a retailer.

Hall Office Park- Hall Financial owns a 162-acre business park on the corner of Warren Parkway and the North Dallas Tollway. There are currently 14-multitenant office buildings complete on the site, but plans include adding up to 6 more. The 15th building (127k sqft) is scheduled for delivery in early 2009. Buildings 16 & 17 are currently in the planning stage.

Dr. Pepper StarCenter & Deja Blue Ice Arena- The Home of the Dallas Stars & Frisco Thunder is currently undergoing a MM renovation that will add 1,500 seats, 4 luxury suites, a private club, a new concession area, and an additional parking garage. Completion is scheduled for June 2009.

Centre at Preston Ridge Apartments- Westwood Residential is building 655 apartments and 15k sqft of commercial space on Parkwood Blvd. north of Gaylord Parkway. Completion is scheduled for March 2009.

Post Frisco Bridges Apartments- Post Properties is building 269 apartments and 30k sqft of ground floor retail space on the southwest corner of Parkwood Blvd. and Warren Parkway. Completion is expected in March 2009.

The District- Margaux Development owns a 91 acre site on the northwest corner of Warren Parkway and the North Dallas Tollway. As of February 2009, the project had been put on hold. The partnership was still deciding exactly what to build on the land, and when to start. Previous plans included building more than 6 million square feet of retail, hospitality, residential, and office space.

Dallas, TX - North Plano, Frisco Real Estate Development Pipeline

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Real Estate Investing - The Marvel Of Home Depot And Lowe's

Repairing a rental home (or your own home) use to require running down to the local hardware store or to the nearby building supply house. After several stops around town, you found everything you needed to solve your maintenance problem.

If you are a fixer upper or tenant landlord today, you now have the marvel of Home Depot and Lowe's!

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Now we have one-stop shopping for virtually everything needed at one of these two stores.

But more than that efficient feature for saving time (and often cost), you can get instruction for repairs from either experienced employees and/or special classes of instruction. If you don't know how to perform the job, you will often find it easier than you imagined. I had never laid any tile, until I discovered that an experienced tile-layer-turned-Home Depot-employee showed me how easy it is. And I found I could get my tile cut free at the store to fit those difficult spots around the tub faucets.

And add to these attractive store features the ease of acquiring commercial and consumer credit, often with promotions of 9 or more purchases at 0% interest for 6 months or more.

I was in Phoenix many years ago when I visited my first Home Depot. It was love at first sight. I had always wanted good quality tools fit for the job at hand at discount prices, and what I saw was a dream come true. I walked that store in amazement as I saw row after row of ceiling-high supplies of every sort of tool and construction material imaginable. It was an awesome experience, and I have never lost that euphoria in walking into a Home Depot or Lowe's. I have become increasingly appreciative over the years at this luxury of shopping at these two stores. Shopping is time-saving, and I leave it to Home Depot and Lowe's to do the research on discovering which suppliers manufacture the best tools, equipment and supplies for the job at hand.

Even if you are a real estate investor who does NONE of your own labor, these stores are a great place to learn how a job should be done right.

But if you perform the repair work on your own properties, you can find the materials and instruction at Home Depot and Lowe's.

It seems Home Depot and Lowe's are gonna slug it out for the predominant position in the marketplace. In some areas, when one new store is opened, the other store buys the lot next door for its own new location. America loves these two competitive stores. Some individual stores do a million dollars of business a week. I find both stores are excellent sources for the best tools and materials I've ever found. And it's hard to beat their prices.

Home Depot and Lowe's fill a void for real estate investors with convenience, pricing, instruction and availability.

Real Estate Investing - The Marvel Of Home Depot And Lowe's

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Apple Valley California Vacant Land and Commercial Real Estate Opportunities

As the real estate property values continue to hold at the low end of the investment scale, the small home town appeal of the town of Apple Valley California in combination with its close proximity to the Interstates and regional tourists areas make it a lucrative prospect to the real estate investor who is seeking out commercial property or vacant land for new construction.

Since there is so much property on the market which is either in foreclosure or subject to short sale approval by the mortgage company, it is advisable that anyone wishing to purchase real estate of any kind, in the current market, associate themselves with a licensed real estate agent who is familiar with the desired geographic area. A real estate agent will help navigate the potential buyer through the stipulations associated with purchasing a foreclosed property.

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If desiring to purchase commercial real estate, including a building, considerations must be made for the current zoning rules and whether the building is up to code. Generally, foreclosed properties will be sold as is, meaning that the seller has no responsibility to bring the property up to the codes required for occupancy. While a potential purchase may seem like a great deal, the real estate agent will be able to determine, based on local contractors and availability of materials, what the overall cost to the purchaser will be after bringing the building and surrounding property up to code. This is where the use of a commercial real estate agent is invaluable. The real estate agent specializing in commercial properties will be able to ascertain real values for the investment, including potential lease rates and likelihood of 100% tenancy in a given area.

Apple Valley has grown in the last two years to include new construction of four retail strip malls and several large national department stores including Wal-Mart, Costco and Target. Furthermore, Apple Valley is now also home to a Lowes and a Home Depot location to accommodate the large amount of new construction in the regions commercial market. As the area is obviously receptive to certain types of commercial ventures, it is worth some investigation to see if your business will fit into a well established community.

If desiring to purchase vacant land as an investment or for construction purposes in Apple Valley, California, it is important to know whether the property you are considering is zoned for commercial or residential construction. Again, your agent will be well versed in the particulars of the potential transaction, and will be able to guide you to available properties that fulfill the criteria you outline. This will save you valuable time, as the market is beginning to indicate that it has bottomed out and the property values may begin to increase in the near future. If you have been on the fence with the idea of purchasing vacant land, the time to act may be right now. Check with a local agent for the specifics, and an outlook for the timeframe of your potential investment.

Apple Valley California Vacant Land and Commercial Real Estate Opportunities

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San Diego's Real Estate Market to Have a Great 2nd Half of the Year After a Slow Start to 2011

The last couple months in San Diego's real estate market have been fairly mellow. The transactions that were put under contract in the late part of 2010 and the very beginning of 2011 are now closing, yet total sales have dropped fairly consistently in terms of overall activity since last October. We typically see a lull in activity in February, as this is (seasonally adjusted) the slowest month on the calendar for real estate, however these last couple months have felt oddly sluggish. Why?

Some people point to Libya. Others chalk it up to the major earthquake in Japan. Yet some others take into account the larger socio-economic challenges that the US is currently facing with a recovering economy mired in debt. Does any of this stuff even matter? I think it has to at some level, but all real estate is local, and the absolute effects from Libya, the earthquake and the economy will be negligent in terms of the San Diego real estate market, however, it will have some effect on the overall consensus of the market, and the PERCEPTION of the buyers in the marketplace, which indirectly affect buyer's overall thoughts and actions.

Grow Calendar 2011

Take one look at any news channel's program and you would think that the end of days is near. Prepare for the apocalypse, start hoarding water and foodstuffs so you can survive. It's pretty serious stuff because you would be made to think that we are living in a country that is a sinking ship and we are all doomed. The Fear and Worry that is being spoon-fed to the general populous is sickening, but this topic is for another article altogether. What's good to know is that a lot of good is being performed out there. The recovery is well on its way, and there are substantially positive outlooks with regards not only to real estate but the general economy as well. Certainly, the tough political issues we face are both challenging and immense, and they will no doubt have lingering effects for decades, yet I implore everyone to take a look around the world and challenge the fact that this country is still the best place to live, the best place to do business, and arguably the best country in the world. It's so easy to get caught up with what's wrong, when we should always be taking into account, appreciating, and not taking for granted what is right in our world today.

That being said, I have felt a momentum change within the San Diego real estate market over the past couple months, and when winter fully clears, and these global issues subside, and when most people realize that prices are great, interest rates are even better, and that buying a home is a solid financial move, this market is going to ABSOLUTELY POP.

Interesting studies were performed by Wells Fargo this last year to get an idea of buyer sentiment in the marketplace. The studies found that over 2/3 of buyers out there still believe that buying a home is a good idea and a sound financial decision even if the home was to decrease in value to some extent. In other words, the majority of people in this country firmly believe that the best investment on earth is...well... earth! That the majority of buyers feel this way is both exciting and predictive of a shift in overall thinking and consensus of buying a home in this market.

Nationally, things are looking OK. In San Diego however, things are only looking better. Since we were one of the first cities that corrected going into the recession, it's easy to see that we would be among the first to come out strong. San Diego has an economy that is balanced with several well paying industries that employ the jobs that substantiate the values for local home prices. We are bolstered by a thriving telecom, biotech, and computational industries that were nonexistent 15-20 years ago. The defense and aerospace industry companies here are as strong as they have ever been, and tourism has really come on as a backbone that supports this local economy as well. On top of all of this, San Diego is the depository of the largest military presence in the entire country, and we are truly fortunate to have these revenues coming in as a result of our military proclivities that benefit all San Diegans in many ways, not just real estate related.

San Diego has a strong demand for housing because of these growing industries, and as the job sector continues to grow, and demand for employment increases, the market for housing will improve along with it. In fact, San Diego job growth has been positive and growing consistently, and is now at a 5 year high, at the same levels since before the recession.

Unlike cities built in the desert (like Las Vegas and Phoenix), there is very little build-able space remaining in San Diego County, and as a result we have a limited supply of land on which to build new housing. Now, here is where it gets interesting. Because we have a growing economy and a growing population, and because there is no real large tracts of land left to build on, and because there has been literally zero new construction created since the downturn in the economy, and because prices have decreased on average 25% from their peak, and because interests rates and the cost of money has been trending at 30 year lows, and because there IS NO SHADOW INVENTORY OF SAN DIEGO REAL ESTATE being held by banks, this city and county is poised to recover quite nicely over the next couple years.

If ever there was a perfect storm - a perfect opportunity where a buyer could get in on the bottom floor of a recovery and ride the wave of ownership to financial independence, I believe this is it. The consensus of local industry professionals is quite good for the future outlook of this city and the real estate market. Yet, it seems after taking into account all of these macro-economic phenomenons that are currently in process, the market still finds itself in a lull.

Personally, if I am a buyer right now in this market, I can make aggressive offers and get a good deal without having to manage too much competition. This will all soon change. The fed will stop buying debt which will move to run up interest rates, and the inflation that they have been worrying about will begin to settle in - although most people dont understand this enough to act on it now, they soon will once the higher prices and higher cost of money effects buying power.

There is a herd-mentality for buyers in real estate, and this was showcased especially in the running up of prices when they peaked in 2006. The same thing holds true today - when a friends asks me how I doing (in business) and I respond with "things are great!", they then reply, "wow...in this market?!?" I've often wondered why this is, but now I know that It's because the herd thinks the market is supposed to be bad. Don't be a part of the herd!

Understandably so, most people think that the market still sucks, and that is why in San Diego we have seen this 3 month lull in activity from the past couple months. Surely people believe in the value of home-ownership, but they think that this particular market - right here - right now - is not great. This is the herd mentality in its quintessential form.

Once common consensus is reached that we have fully recovered, it's easy to see how quickly prices will increase and this overall economy improves because real estate is the straw that stirs the drink of this economy, and everyone will tend to want to get into the game and gravitate back to real estate. Evidently all the prerequisites for a market recovery are coming into place. The question is, what are you doing to take advantage of the opportunity at hand today?

I wrote an article last year about the prediction for the 2011 San Diego Real Estate Market and how I felt that by the end of the year, we would end up in a positive single-digit growth percentage rate year-over-year for San Diego as a whole. My main concerns that would hinder a full-blown recovery were Unemployment, Excess Inventory, and People's Perception of the market as a whole.

As I mentioned earlier, signs are truly positive with respect to San Diego employers as job growth is at 5 year highs. With regards to excess inventory, 2011 will be the year of the short sale for San Diego, but there is NO SHADOW INVENTORY in San Diego from past foreclosed properties. Foreclosed homes represent 1 of every 10 home sales in San Diego. Foreclosure activity is down over 30% from last year, in which 2010 was a off year from the foreclosure activity peak from the year before. Banks are not holding homes in San Diego. They may be elsewhere but not here. The excess inventory will be fully absorbed as a result of the growing demand and supply limits from the lack of new construction in San Diego over the past couple years. That leaves us with people's perception of the market. This is the last piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed. The local and national media does not help with this either, but the internet and social media will really come into its own and allow a clear message to emerge: that San Diego real estate is for up for sale and the opportunity at hand today is simply amazing.

This dynamic will not last for long, and it's the herd mentality that is slowing the majority consensus that buying a home today is not only a good financial idea; it's also a great opportunity, and needs to be acted upon sooner rather than later. Opportunities like this have only come a few times in the past several decades. This one so happens to be my generation's opportunity to really take hold of one's financial future and lay claim to financial independence and well being for our children and our retirement.

My hope for you is that if you are able to act, that you do so. If you are unable currently, then you work towards getting into a position to do so as quickly as you are able. This window is open, but not for long. I hope that you can make this market work for you in the best possible way.

San Diego's Real Estate Market to Have a Great 2nd Half of the Year After a Slow Start to 2011

Grow Calendar 2011