Office Deal Volume in Austin Was Down in H1

Year-to-date through June, the Texas capital’s office deal volume amounted to $555 million, according to CommercialEdge data. Transaction activity in Austin shrunk by more than 57 percent year-over-year.

While off to a slow start in the first months of the year, investment activity within Austin’s office market continued to lack momentum in the second quarter of the year. The Texas metro registered one of the lowest transaction volumes across similar growth Sun Belt cities, with Charlotte ($720 million), Nashville ($913 million), Atlanta ($1.17 billion), Phoenix ($1.43 billion), Houston ($1.54 billion) and Dallas ($2.43 billion) all recording higher volumes.

Across all these markets, only Charlotte ($369 per square foot) had a higher price for office product, with Austin office prices averaging at $313 per square foot in the first six months of 2022. Prices in Austin dropped slightly since the end of the first quarter, when they reached $316 per square foot and were significantly lower than at the same point last year ($509 per square foot).

Biggest office deals in H1

In June, Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. purchased Block 21 from Stratus Properties Inc. in the biggest commercial deal of the second quarter. The mixed-use property changed hands for approximately $260 million, inclusive of the buyer’s assumption of existing debt reaching $136 million. The 476,150-square-foot downtown property comprises the 251-key W Austin Hotel, a 2,750-seat entertainment venue dubbed Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, as well as class A office space, among others.

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Also in June, AEW Capital Management purchased a two-building office complex totaling 330,000 square feet in East Austin. The seller, Riverside Resources, was the property’s original developer. AEW picked up Centro South and North with two, $77 million and $75 million acquisition loans, provided by PGIM Real Estate and First United Bank and Trust Co., respectively.

In April, a joint venture between DRA Advisors LLC and Pillar Commercial purchased 823 Congress, a 190,254-square-foot office property in the CBD. The buyer, New York-based Brickman, bought the B Class, 16-story asset with the help of a $61.7 million loan provided by RBC Bank.

CommercialEdge covers 8M+ property records in the United States. View the latest CommercialEdge national monthly office report here.