Investment Strategy based on CNBC Top State For Business : TEXAS

[Shital Thakkar]

Hi,

TEXAS economy is on the fire lately... and now CNBC listed TEXAS is best place to do business.

There is huge in-migration in Texas. 

What/Where to invest in Texas ...?

• What: SF, MF, Shopping Center, Office..?
• Where: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, FW, ElPaso

[Leland Barrow]

Texas has been a great place to do business. Central Texas is as good as it gets. Austin is more of a matured market. It has gone through a pretty significant gentrification process. Austin has grown in all directions but the new push is south. Kyle and Buda have quickly grown. At one time those were commuting suburbs. Now commuting suburbs are San Marcos, New Braunfels, and Canyon Lake. San Marcos is a beautiful college town. It is going through a miniature gentrification and the West Side of San Marcos is attracting a lot of attention. New Braunfels has been growing just as quick. Both cities are now family friendly with a lot of amenities. New Braunfels has a much more polished city plan and code department. Canyon lake finishes out this Central Triangle, it is still lacking an identity but it is quickly changing. It used to be the hillbilly lake town. Now it is on the verge of going through a change process. I would imagine Canyon Lake will be the city where most people kick themselves for not building in. Farther South you have San Antonio. West San Antonio is growing. I don't think it gets much better than West San Antonio. As a city it has a lot to offer. The cultural diversity is awesome. I can only compare it to San Diego of the 80s and early 90s. A fun city that has a lot to offer people of all backgrounds. San Antonio is a bit more blue collar in my opinion where as Austin is white collar. Just outside of San Antonio you have Seguin. Now that little town is about to really start changing. Seguin is a poor town. A poor town on a river, on one of the busiest interstates, with transportation growth that it has happening all around it. Seguin is a is the gateway to Houston and the oil fields. Out west you have Kerrville. Also located on I10 it is a retirement town. Kerrville is known for art and wealthy retirees. That city does not want growth. However, it is the gateway to Texas hill country. Anywhere you look around San Antonio are towns that are growing and the cusp of becoming premiere suburbs. Downtown San Antonio has a real hipness. Today it was what Austin in the early 2000s was trying to be. Downtown San Antonio has the amazing historical charm and vibe that you cannot get anywhere else. You can feel the history, while also sensing the change. If I chose one word to describe Downtown San Antonio it would be "authentic". It is authentic Texas. Those that saw the beauty and potential are already making it happen. 

In my lifetime Austin and San Antonio will essentially become one city. A new and better version of Dallas/Ft Worth. It will get professional sports teams and become an international player as far as metros go. There is decades and decades of petroleum and energy resources in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford. The widening of the panama canal has increased shipping and transportation. Texas is a gateway into South America by either land or by sea. Railways built Dallas/Ft Worth and the ports combined with interstate transportation will continue to build Central Texas. El Paso to Houston is a transportation corridor that is always increasing. 

The hyperloop if it gets built will be a game changer. I look forward to the day when my kids can live near me but commute to Houston or Dallas in minutes. 

There is nothing temporary about Texas. It is still a baby as far as growth is concerned. Austin cannot even figure out how to build a loop. Look at a map of all of the states and pick out the ones that have the interstate transport, massive amounts of natural resources, ports, coasts, and diversity that Texas has. If you are an out of stater you can pretty much draw a circle around Austin to West San Antonio and be hard pressed to make a bad purchase as far as areas go. Developers that want value land should consider Comal and Hays Counties. Value investors should look for deals inside 410 San Antonio, Seguin, and Canyon Lake. Heavy Hitters should look at Austin, downtown San Antonio, West San Antonio, Downtown San Marcos. The city with the most potential is hands down San Marcos Texas. It is gentrifying quickly. It has developers already pushing for developments that cater to the university. Is has the same kind of charm that cities in Colorado have. It is halfway between Austin and San Antonio. I would make the bold prediction that Hays county will become the Orange county of central Texas over the next few decades.

Hopefully you got something out of that.