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Articles by Daniel Oney
The Fall and Rise of American Manufacturing
The state of U.S. manufacturing is a controversial topic, with two high-level debates at the center of the conversation. First, there has been disagreement about whether manufacturing has declined and, if so, whether the decline has been absolute or relative. Second, there has been a more passionate discussion over whether the state of manufacturing even matters for national success. There is evidence to support several perspectives on the first debate.
Texas: Population 31.7 Million and Counting
More than interest rates and inventory, population growth is the single most important driver of long-term demand for real estate. Every asset from land to housing to commercial properties is influenced by population growth. Texas has benefited from consistent growth and that steady growth gives developers confidence to build. Of course, real estate markets are cyclical, and Texas has seen more than its fair share of booms and busts.
Commercial | Summer 2026
For the past three years, retail has been the best-performing commercial asset class in Texas. It earned this status because developers have acted with restraint (helped by higher interest rates) and because of structural changes in retailing. This benefited retail landlords and may be a rare bright spot for local taxing jurisdictions. Changing consumer habits and tough financing have limited brick-and-mortar retail investment to meeting basic neighborhood services.
The Many Pieces of Housing Affordability
In the first half of 2026, the median home price in Texas was 31 percent higher than it was six years earlier. Higher prices have generally persisted despite a slight decrease over the last 18 months. Major markets have seen prices fall the most, but even Austin, which had the fastest runup, remains 25 percent higher than in the spring of 2020. Broad measures of household income have been strong in Texas, but entry-level priced homes have largely disappeared from many markets.
To Rent or To Own? Understanding the Texas Rental Market
the decision to rent or purchase a home is complex, and each option has pros and cons. While employment, location, and family certainly play a major role in the decision, household finances often win out in the end. Households in Texas are more likely to rent than those in the rest of the country. More than one-third of Texans rent, accounting for over four million occupied units.
Commercial | Spring 2026
Developers have built many more apartments than Texans have leased. The state is not unique in that sense. There was overbuilding in most of the Sunbelt stimulated by a migration surge during the COVID-19 shutdowns. At the same time, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve policy responses made it very easy to finance new projects. We have seen similar construction excesses before. In the 1970s and 1980s, a booming oil industry drove a condo construction craze.
Commercial | Winter 2026
There is a lot of empty office space in Texas. Over the past five years, 53 million square feet (MSF) of unused space has accumulated throughout most of the state. This isn’t a recent problem. In the five years before the pandemic shutdown, there were 78.2 MSF delivered in the four major metros (Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio) and only 49.2 MSF absorbed. After the lockdown, the situation worsened significantly.
Does the Mall Still Have It All?
Retail changes fast. Products and brands boom or fall out of favor with shifting consumer tastes and trends. Spending follows the ups and downs in employment and income. Retailers respond with new store formats. Warehouse clubs, combo general merchandise and grocery supercenters, and category-killer big-box chains were added to the retail landscape. Online shopping upended the entire brick-and mortar paradigm. Through it all, the shopping mall remains a persistent presence on the land.
Commercial | Fall 2025
The post-pandemic industrial boom has cooled, prompting a critical question: Is balance returning to the big-box market? From 2020 to 2023, developers could not keep up with the demand for large industrial buildings. A boost in online shopping stimulated demand for distribution centers everywhere, not just in the traditional hubs. A slight recovery in brick-and-mortar shopping put online sales back on their pre 2020 trend of rapid growth. The development pipeline continued to deliver new inventory.
Commercial | Summer 2025
Many bemoaned the death of brick-and-mortar retail as pandemic lockdowns shuttered stores across the nation. Five years later and retail has been the best performing real estate asset not only in Texas, but throughout most of the U.S. Lockdowns and, more recently, higher interest rates, dried up the construction pipeline. This led to a shortage of space in growing markets as households eagerly returned to in-store shopping. Retailers scrambled for storefronts and paid higher rents.
How Texas Became a Leader in Professional Services
Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PST) services are vital for running a modern economy. This broad collection of service industries groups together many subsectors including accounting, management consulting, legal services, engineering, computer, and other design services. These functions are needed throughout the economy but are in heavy demand by other businesses. Thus, they are concentrated in cities with many corporate headquarters.
Commercial | Spring 2025
Apartment markets across the nation have been scrutinized by investors and developers as several years of historically strong demand have led to overbuilding. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Sunbelt, a region that experienced increased migration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By analyzing year-end data from CoStar, we’re able to get a better understanding of supply and demand in 2014.
Made in Texas: How Manufacturing Growth is Impacting Industrial Space Demand
Making Room for Manufacturers Listen up, manufacturing firms: If you’re gonna build in Texas, you gotta have the right floor plan. Investors, developers, and local officials share an interest in understanding the demand for industrial space. Too much space and their revenues and tax base suffer, too little and tenants face the pinch of overly high costs and state and local competitiveness suffers.
The Verdict Is In: Legal Industry Key to Texas Office Markets
The legal industry has been growing slowly across the country, but much faster in Texas. The industry is a substantial employer in the state, with over 104,000 jobs by spring of 2024. Job growth in the legal services industry, which includes a few small sectors beyond law firms, has accelerated. Both before and after COVID, legal services grew faster in Texas than they did nationally. The industry also grew faster than Texas’ overall payroll employment (Figure 1).
Home Economics: Analyzing Consumer Spending and Housing Costs
Consumer spending is fundamental to the economy, and Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) data is a useful tool to assess the state of American and Texas households. With data spanning over 40 years and details on many budget categories, it is the most comprehensive survey of the spending habits of U.S. households. This article includes estimates of household spending over time and compares U.S. and Texas spending patterns with a focus on housing expenses.
What does the 2023 economy hold for Texas? A&M experts make their predictions
Economic forecasts are tricky, what with so many state, national, and global variables at play (to say nothing about how a devastating weather event such as a hurricane or winter storm can reshuffle the deck mid-year). But using their collective understanding of current economic and market conditions and by looking at past market trends, the Texas Real Estate Research Center’s (TRERC) research team has made some educated guesses for 2023.
2021 Top States Commentary: Top Ranked States Hold Their Positions - Area Development
Related Research The 2021 Top States for Doing Business Reflect Their Locational Advantages 2021 Top States Commentary: Auto Industry Projects Driving Top-Ranked States 2021 Top States Commentary: A Look Behind the Rankings 2021 Top States Commentary: Commonalities Shared by the Top-Ranked States 2021 Top States Commentary: Location Strategies Altered by the Pandemic, But Not Results 2021 Top States Commentary: Pandemic Accelerates Pre-Existing State Trends On the surface, not much is...
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