CDS President Interviewed on Challenges to Houston Real Estate Market

Q&A Steven Spillette: 2016 Presenting Challenges to Houston Home Building, Multifamily and Office Sectors
​RealtyNewsReport.com

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HOUSTON – Few people can judge the lay of the land better than an urban planner. Steven Spillette, an urban development strategist also experienced in real estate and urban planning, has done a variety of market studies and financial pro-forma analyses for private and public clients related to single family and multifamily residential, retail, office, industrial, hotel and meeting facilities, among other things.

A native Houstonian, he was educated at UC Berkeley, Texas A&M and Stanford. He launched his own firm, Spillette Consulting, in 2001 and recently merged with CDS Market Research.

He shared some of his prognostications for 2016 with Dale King, a contributor to the Realty News Report.

Realty News Report: The price of oil dipped to its lowest level in seven years in December, a major concern to Houstonians. What’s your outlook for Houston real estate for 2016?

Spillette: Even though Houston’s economy is more diversified than it was 30 years ago, the recent surge in hiring was spearheaded by upstream gas and oil. This boom has stopped and some layoffs are happening. Construction sectors like multifamily, suburban single-family and Class A office space will be much weaker in the coming year. There will be little demand for large-scale office space. Rents will plateau. We don’t need any more upscale apartments in some parts of town. Other aspects of the economy independent of gas and oil seem relatively stable. The southeastern part of town which has other industries will also remain stable or will grow. That area won’t suffer as much as the petrochemical sector. Logistics tied to the Port of Houston and consumer products distribution is strong and should remain so. The things that primed the pump for the massive boom since 2011 have largely gone away. The multiplier effects will still be felt in 2016, but things won’t be crazy. I’d call them unremarkable.

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