Foreign Buyers Also Coming to Texas in Droves
TEXAS: They’re coming to Texas the world over—and they’re buying houses worth billions of dollars. A survey from the National Association of Realtors says that between April 2022 and March 2023 Texas tied with the Golden State for second place behind Florida in the number of foreigners buying homes. These include recent immigrants and non-U.S. citizens who reside outside the U.S. Nearly half the foreign buyers in Texas between that period were from Mexico, going from 1,735 to 4,059. Others buying in Texas came from Asia, with the Lone Star State ranking in the top three for those coming from China and India. Across the U.S., foreign buyers accounted for $53 billion in residential buys with more than 84,000 home purchases. Those from China accounted for $13 billion in home purchases and those from Mexico, more than $4.2 billion in home purchases.
DFW: North Texas continues to lead the country in the construction of new hotel rooms. Lodging Econometrics reports that the region has more than 21,500 rooms being built in 184 new hotels. More than 2,100 rooms across 13 hotels are set to open by year’s end. Another 2,100 rooms in 19 hotels are expected to open next year. And in 2025, another 2,300-plus rooms in 23 other hotels will open. The Atlanta area was second in the survey with 17,990 rooms over 141 projects and Phoenix was third with 16,107 rooms across 119 projects. Lodging Econometrics reports that nearly 5,700 rooms in 30 hotels in North Texas are currently being renovated.
DFW: Commercial starts are down in DFW, but the region still ranks near the top in commercial building projects. Dodge Data & Analytics says that during the first part of the year, nearly $6.7 billion in commercial and apartment projects started construction. That’s a 17% drop from last year, but North Texas remains No. 2 on the list, behind New York City, which itself is more than 30% down from a year ago. Across the country, commercial and apartment starts are down 14% from last year, due in part to economic challenges, uncertainty and higher borrowing costs. Commercial building starts this year are double what they were in 2019. Last year, DFW had more than $16 billion in commercial and apartment construction projects.
DFW: The first phase of a six-acre mixed-use development near Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas is expected to begin construction next spring. The first phase of the Field Street District development at Field Street will have an 18-story office high-rise and a 25-story, 300-unit apartment tower with ground-floor retail space. That phase is expected to cost more than $350 million and is expected to be completed in two years. When fully completed, the development will have two residential towers, a hotel, more than 1 million square feet of office space and up to 40,000 square feet of retail and amenity space.
BEANTOWN: Michael Dell wants to hit the delete button – well, at least on the home he currently owns in Boston. The five-bedroom suite spans two levels on the 61st floor of the Four Seasons Private Residences, the tallest residential building in the city. The founder and CEO of Dell Technologies bought the penthouse for $34 million and wants roughly $35 million for it. The home offers 11-foot ceilings, wood floors, custom millwork and floor-to-ceiling windows that provide sweeping views of the city and waterways. The penthouse also includes a nearly 600-square-foot grand terrace and a private balcony. Dell also owns another penthouse at the luxury Millennium Tower.