Texas has emerged as a hot real estate investment destination in recent years. With its business-friendly policies, growing economy and populations, major urban centers like Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio have seen surging demand for commercial and residential real estate. This has attracted many institutional investors, real estate investment trusts (REITs), private equity firms and property developers. There are now a number of notable real estate investment companies active across Texas. In this article, we will provide an overview of some of the top real estate investment firms in Texas.
Large national players like JPMorgan and Blackstone have major presence
Some of the biggest real estate investment firms in the country are active in the Texas market. JPMorgan Asset Management has over $60 billion invested in real estate globally of which a significant portion targets Texas. It owns and operates commercial buildings, apartments, hotels, warehouses across Dallas, Houston and Austin. Similarly, private equity giant Blackstone has deployed billions in Texas real estate. It owns many office buildings, self-storage facilities, apartments and last-mile logistics assets. Blackstone has also been actively acquiring multifamily properties in Texas.
Institutional investors like TIAA invest heavily in Texas
Institutional investors have also allocated significant capital to Texas real estate. TIAA has over $5 billion invested in commercial real estate properties across Texas including office, industrial, multifamily, retail and hotels. It has regional offices in both Houston and Dallas to source acquisition opportunities and asset management. Similarly, MetLife has an extensive $11 billion plus real estate portfolio in Texas. It continues to acquire office buildings, multifamily communities, logistics facilities and retail complexes across major Texas cities.
Local players like Crescent Real Estate maintain extensive portfolios
In addition to large national investment firms, Texas also has a vibrant ecosystem of institutional quality local real estate investors. Crescent Real Estate maintains a diversified real estate portfolio of around $10 billion invested in Texas markets. It actively invests in office, multifamily, hospitality and mixed-use assets. Another active investor across residential, office and retail is New York-based The Carlton Group which has regional headquarters in Dallas. Dallas-based Hoque Global also manages over $1 billion in Texas real estate.
REITs like Cousins Properties have significant exposure
Publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are also participating in the strong Texas real estate growth story. Cousins Properties is a REIT focused on premier Class A office properties in Texas markets like Austin, Dallas and Houston where it owns and operates a portfolio of over 20 office buildings. Another REIT, First Industrial has nearly 20 million square feet of industrial space across Texas. Retail focused REITs like Kimco have also been expanding their mall and open-air shopping center footprints in the major Texas metros.
Texas offers a business-friendly climate, strong economic and job growth and favorable demographics that position it as an attractive market for real estate investment. Major national and institutional investors along with local players and REITs have deployed significant capital across multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets. Key cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio will continue to be target markets for real estate investment firms.