Latest Thoughts on Austin from last week:

1) Best in class tenants continue to be extremely selective with their sites. Just this week, I was asked to present an off market site to a specific client of mine...in prior times, this would have been a slam dunk. That is not the case now -- although happy to know about the site, the site missed on a couple of different aspects and it was a pass. This is becoming more and more common with many of the tenants I work with.

2) This is a good lesson for landlords -- if you want to chase best in class tenants, the location, parking, and surrounding tenant sales can all be excellent, but if you don't have a strategy to retenant the center with similar and like kind tenants, getting these top tier tenants is going to highly unlikely. Tenants want a story and a strategy from landlords, along with all of their other previous requirements.

3) Conversely, many landlords have decisions to make. Do they invest the money to try and get the best in class restaurants, coffeeshops, and retailers who tend to cluster together? Or do they choose to maintain the status quo and go with banks, wireless retailers, and more mass market tenants? Oftentimes, the rents will be the same but the investment is generally much less on the latter. I understand completely if landlords choose to minimize their investment -- as an owner myself, I sympathize...That being said, if a landlord wants to elevate their center to the top level, it requires a significant investment, both in time and money. This is not a decision that can be made halfway. It just goes to the importance of having a clear strategy on the landlord side and understanding the role of the property in the overall portfolio of the landlord.

All in all, it continues to be interesting times in Austin real estate. It's always fascinating to watch our city grow and become more prominent.