As real estate professionals working in Austin, we have long known that the city’s process for regulating our industry is broken. As of mid-March, it appears, City Hall is willing to agree.

PHOTOS

Casoro Capital LLC, a real estate investment firm, plans to raise $50 million in private equity to acquire Class B and C apartments in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

From foreign money and student debt to bus lines and saunas, some 200 commercial real estate pros got the skinny on the top five trends facing the student housing market this morning during our 3rd Annual Atlanta Student Housing Summit at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

A bill authorizing $3.1 billion worth of bonds for construction projects at more than 50 Texas public colleges and health research institutions has advanced out of committee and will go before the full Texas House of Representatives, reports the Austin American-Statesman.

Austin Energy would have to trim its spending — and possibly allow customers to switch to other electric providers — under a pair of proposals from Austin-area state lawmakers.

ARA, A Newmark Co.has sold four multifamily properties in the Austin area.

The assets include Platinum Southside, a 195-unit, high-end garden-style apartment community located in the south central submarket; Bluffs at Townlake, a 300-unit, garden-style apartment community; Martha’s Vineyard, a 360-unit, garden-style apartment community located in the northwest submarket; and Serena Park, a 36-unit, value-add apartment community located at 9210 Northgate in north Austin.

Austin drivers will notice new approaches to reducing traffic congestion in the next two to three weeks.

Everyone knows that the Rainey Street district is constantly changing. Huge new developments are planned or under construction between the cozy bungalows containing bars and restaurants. BuildingATX took a stroll down Rainey to check out what’s new as of March 2015.

San Antonio had 4.5% rent growth in 2014, but it wasn’t proportionally spread across the city, according to experts at yesterday’s Bisnow San Antonio Multifamily Summit. These five types of properties are getting the lion’s share of increases.

Before 2008, the greater Dallas Fort Worth area, known as the Fort Worth Basin, was almost entirely void of seismic activity. Between 1950 and 2008, the only seismic activity on record was an insignificant event that experts could only agree "might" have been an earthquake. Recently, however, seismic activity in the Fort Worth Basin has increased significantly, with more than 120 earthquakes recorded in the region since 2008.

"Over the past few years we have all heard that the market is in recovery. Proponents of this position continually point at the financial markets and in particular the Dow Jones Industrial Average as the supporting proof of their claim," says Larry Anweiler, a real estate expert and professor with Kaplan University. "However if we look below the surface we find several indicators that do not support the promising picture being offered to the public."

The commercial property market is booming. MBA students are sought after for real estate roles in private equity finance, and project and portfolio management in both the US and Europe.

A recent study from Massolution reports that crowdfunding investors injected $1 billion into the U.S. real estate market last year. By the end of 2015, that number should climb to $2.5 billion.

We asked property managers around the country how they're preparing buildings for the eventual return of sunshine and sweltering temps.

Date: 4/21/2015

Time: 11:15 am - 1:00 pm

The Four Seasons Hotel
98 San Jacinto Blvd.