Texas Real Estate Daily

The real estate business runs on jobs.

Oh sure, you need low interest rates and a ready supply of debt to do property market deals.

But for the industry to do really well, there has to be a sound economy and job growth.

Fortunately for Dallas-Fort Worth real estate developers and investors, this area leads the country in job creation. And so does Texas among the states.

But I always wonder just where all these new jobs are. Are they hiring rocket scientists or burger flippers?

A look at state employment numbers shows a bit of both.

For the 12 months ending in July, some of the biggest gains in Texas jobs have come in areas including administration and support services (38,000), accommodation and food services (34,000), construction (29,400), health care and social assistance (33,300) and retail trade (28,300).

The job-losing sectors include nondurable goods manufacturing (minus 12,220), information (minus 3,000) and even the U.S. Postal Service (minus 2,900).

The big surprise is that through July at least, the real estate and financial sectors in Texas were still net job gainers.

That can’t last.

Residential mortgage and title companies are already making steep cuts in employment. And homebuilders are still whacking away at their job base.

The shakeout in the banking and financial sector will also mean job cuts.

Cutbacks in the financial business will cause fits for the owners of North Texas office buildings who rely on these tenants.

Business economist D’Ann Petersen of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is keeping a close eye on the situation.

“I would expect employment in this sector in D-FW to remain flat or weaken,” Ms. Petersen said. “Of course, financial services job growth is one of the sectors that drives demand for office space.”

So office owners and builders had better watch out for bank and mortgage company layoff notices, too.

When developers built the Uptown Plaza shopping center at McKinney Avenue and Pearl Street, everyone wondered how you could put a single-story retail strip on such a prime corner.

Maybe they were right.

AmREIT, the Houston-based investor that now owns Uptown Plaza, is asking the city of Dallas to increase the allowed building height for the entire site.

That includes a vacant tract behind the center on Routh Street that once was planned for luxury condos.

Duke Realty Corp. has teamed up with Dallas’ Peloton Real Estate Partners, which will lease its office portfolio. The deal includes more than 640,000 square feet in three locations.

“Duke is the second-most-active developer in the Dallas market, so it’s quite an honor to be affiliated with them,” said Joel Pustmueller of Peloton. “Their portfolio of properties is extremely high quality and located in areas where businesses want to be located.”

Buildings that Peloton will be leasing include One Allen Center in Allen, Point West I in Coppell and Duke Bridges III in Frisco.

A month after closing the deal, real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle is rolling out a marketing campaign that highlights its merger with Dallas’ Staubach Co.

Look for advertisements that pair Roger Staubach and Jones Lang LaSalle chief executive Collin Dyer.

In the print ads, they are sporting identical JLL lapel pins, but Mr. Staubach has the snazzier tie.

Credits: Dallas News