The best Texas Triangle real estate markets in the US heading into 2024

Real estate in the Texas Triangle is magnetic, according to the Urban Land Institute.

Austin has the fifth-best real estate market in the country heading into 2024, the Austin Business Journal reported, citing ULI’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate study, which gathered data and insights from more than 2,000 industry experts to analyze market changes and make predictions for the coming year.

Austin’s ranking, down from third place last year, reflects the city’s status as a “magnet city,” attracting both people and companies. Over the past few years, Austin has seen significant investment from major corporations, such as Tesla and Samsung, which have attracted significant business to the area.

The city's industrial sector is thriving, with 17 million square feet of industrial space under construction in the third quarter of 2023. Although this is a 19% year-over-year decline, there is still a huge 124 million square feet of industrial inventory across the metropolis.

Austin's population has grown from 790,390 in 2010 to an estimated 974,447 in July 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Suburbs like Georgetown, Leander and Liberty Hill have also experienced explosive growth, contributing to the metro's industrial market.

Austin’s office sector, like many cities, is still struggling in a post-pandemic world. Remote work trends, high interest rates and a tough lending environment have led to record office vacancies, with the downtown area the epicenter of these challenges. Several recently built office towers in downtown Austin are completely vacant. 

While downtown office occupancy levels will not return to pre-pandemic heights, foot traffic and overall activity are on the rise. Visits to downtown Austin are now at 73 percent of their 2019 levels, compared to a national average of 74 percent, the network reported, citing data from the University of Toronto’s School of Urban Studies and the Institute for Government Studies at UC Berkeley.

Other major markets in Texas also have bright prospects for 2024. Dallas-Fort Worth ranked third on the ULI list, while San Antonio and Houston ranked eighth and 11th, respectively. Like Austin, all of these cities were called “magnets.”