ICOnic News | What Does 2024 Look Like For Development Projects?
WHAT DOES 2024 LOOK LIKE FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS?
While the final numbers for 2023 are being finalized and released, one thing is certain, Houston will continue to experience positive population growth when compared with other cities throughout the country. Texas had the largest number of net one-way U-Haul rentals into the state in 2023 giving it the #1 spot on the U-Haul Index for the 3rd consecutive year. If the trend continues in 2024 and when combined with organic population growth and a strong job market, Houston should be at or near the top of the market for new home starts in 2024.
However, despite positive population growth and a healthy number of new home starts, early economic data indicate that inflation will continue to be a factor in 2024. Developers will have to deal with the possibility that the feds may not lower interest rates until later in the year. With increasing pressure on the banking industry from higher interest rates and considerable exposure to CRE loans (especially office), the lending environment for development projects is going to be very challenging for the remainder of 2024. To overcome the obstacles of financing, some landowners are offering seller financing to encourage developers to consider their tracts when compared to others that require traditional financing.
Once a developer overcomes the lending challenges, they will still have to factor in increased overall costs in every aspect of the project including significant increases in the cost of insurance and property taxes. Consequently, 2024 will prove to be a challenging year for development projects; nonetheless, the time to plan for development projects for 2025 and 2026 is NOW.
- Costa Bajjali, Vice President of Development and Brokerage Services
2023 ICO Awards
Each year ICO celebrates and honors our teams' achievements and successes. We are committed to recognizing and acknowledging the client service professionalism and hard work that our team of experts are so dedicated to day in and day out.
Here is just a sampling of a couple of the winners of this year's awards - Danna Sossen was acknowledged for deal of the year and for being a valuable player whose contribution and winning spirit add value to the ICO Team. Seth Green was awarded the top sales award and Mike Gornek was acknowledged as an advisor who can be relied upon to get the job done.
We are grateful for a team that strives for excellence and for the valuable contribution that each member makes to ICO's ongoing success.
