HOUSTON (realtynewsreport.com) – The new 29-story Hess Tower in downtown Houston is reportedly being sold to Canadian investor H and R REIT.

The 845,000-sf office building is being sold for a record $445 million, or $527 per sf.

The Hess sale would surpass the previous record high price of $367 per sf that was paid for the Bank of America Center.

Hess leases the entire building at 1501 McKinney, and moved into it in June.

The building was developed by Trammell Crow in conjunction with Principal Real Estate Investors.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (U.S. EPA) – The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force yesterday released its final strategy for long-term ecosystem restoration for the Gulf Coast, following extensive feedback from citizens throughout the region.

According to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this ”marks the beginning of the implementation phase of the strategy by announcing new initiatives, including $50 million in assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to help agricultural producers in seven Gulf Coast river basins improve water quality, increase water conservation and enhance wildlife habitat.

“USDA’s multi-year environmental restoration effort, known as the Gulf of Mexico Initiative, or GoMI, represents a 1,100 percent increase in financial assistance for Gulf priority watersheds.”

The EPA said this the first restoration blueprint developed for the Gulf to include input from states, tribes, federal agencies, local governments and thousands of citizens and organizations across the region.

HOUSTON (realtynewsreport.com) – In what is being pronounced the world’s largest office lease of the year, Shell Oil has renewed its 1.2 million sf lease in downtown Houston’s
Class-A Shell Plaza.

The company renewed 804,491 sf at One Shell Plaza and 471,934 sf at Two Shell Plaza.

The 15-year lease term is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011, and expires in 2025.

The two million-sf Shell Plaza has been owned, managed and leased by Hines since it was developed in 1970.

Cushman & Wakefield represented Shell in the transaction. Hines used in-house representation.

Trader Joe’s announced that it is moving to The Woodlands in the Spring of 2012.  They will be moving into The Woodlands
Crossing Shopping Center located at 10868 Kuykendahl.  They are also opening stores in downtown Houston and Fort Worth.

NEW YORK (Forbes.com) – When it comes to which states will add the highest percentage of jobs over the next few years, Forbes reports Texas will lead the way.

Total employment here is forecast to expand 2.9 percent annually through 2015, according to research firm Moody’s Analytics. That represents 1.6 million new net jobs for the state over five years.

Forbes points to Texas’ “low tax, business-friendly climate with a surging population that offers a nearly unlimited supply of young labor” as reasons for the growth. However, it also acknowledges that the state’s rapid population growth has pushed its unemployment rate to 8.5 percent, the highest in 24 years.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Better Homes and Gardens) – It’s not all that uncommon for Baby Boomers to help their kids become homeowners, according to the findings of a recent national
survey.

The survey, commissioned by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, found that one in five Baby Boomers has gifted, loaned or cosigned a loan to support their
children or grandchildren in purchasing a home. And more than two-thirds of baby boomers want to provide this type of support in the future.

Other key findings from the survey:

• Those who have provided past support are most confident that they will do so again.
• Highest interest in providing support is reported among younger (age 45-54), more affluent (household income of $75,000+) Baby Boomers who have at least one adult child (age 18 34).
• Baby Boomers are driven to provide financial support primarily by their belief in the overall investment value for them and/or their children or grandchildren, and the role homeownership plays in fulfilling the Americandream.
• Older (age 55+) and more affluent ($100,000+ household income) Baby Boomers are more likely than their younger or less affluent counterparts to have previously provided financial support.
• Across prior support and future interest, Baby Boomers show more interest in gifting or loaning money; they are least interested in cosigning loans.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Texas’ employment growth rate is
slowing down thanks to government job losses, but the state’s private sector is
still cranking out jobs and offsetting government job losses, according to the
latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy.

The state created 15.4 percent of total jobs created in the United States
from October 2010 to October 2011.

Texas gained 232,500 nonfarm jobs during the period, an annual growth rate
of 2.2 percent compared with 1.2 percent for the United States. The state’s
private sector added 287,900 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3.4 percent
compared with 1.7 percent for the nation’s private sector.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.4 percent
in October 2011 from 8.2 percent a year earlier. The nation’s rate
decreased from 9.7 to 9.0 percent.

All Texas industries except the information industry and the state’s
government sector had more jobs in October 2011 than in October 2010. The
state’s mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation, followed by
the professional and business services industry, and the leisure and
hospitality industry.

All Texas metro areas except Abilene, Wichita Falls, Texarkana and College
Station-Bryan had more jobs in October 2011 than in October 2010. Victoria
ranked first in job creation followed by Laredo, Corpus Christi, Odessa and
Lubbock.

The state’s actual unemployment rate in October 2011 was 8 percent. Midland
had the lowest unemployment rate followed by Amarillo, Odessa, Lubbock and
College Station-Bryan.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Sales of existing single-family Texas
homes in October were up 8 percent from a year ago, according to the
most recent Multiple Listing Services (MLS) data compiled by the Real Estate
Center at Texas A&M University.

More than 15,600 existing single-family homes were sold, data showed. The
median home price was $147,500, up 2 percent from a year ago, and the state’s
overall inventory was at 6.9 months.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported
yesterday that, nationally, existing home sales rose 1.4 percent to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million in October from a downwardly
revised 4.9 million in September, and are 13.5 percent above the 4.38 million
unit level in October 2010.

The national median price for existing homes was $162,500, which was 4.7
percent below October 2010.

Talking about the national numbers, Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gaines
said homebuyers continue to be frustrated by stiff mortgage underwriting and
appraisals despite favorable buying factors such as low interest rates,
sluggish but positive job creation and lower home prices.

“NAR reported contract cancellations at 33 percent in October, meaning that one in three sales contracts failed to close,” Gaines said. “Sales agents should be very circumspect when qualifying buyers for mortgages, rather than being frustrated later because the deal does not close.”

October 2011 MLS data for many Texas cities are available on the Center’s
website. Here is a sampling (data current as of Nov. 21, 2011):

NORCROSS, Ga. (Site Selection)
– Texas has claimed the top slot in Site Selection magazine’s “Top Business Climate 2011″ contest.

The Lone Star State finished strong in the objective, data-driven component of the index used to determine the top business climates, as
well as in the subjective input supplied by respondents to the magazine’s annual executive survey of site selectors.

One survey respondent commended Texas for being “a pro-business, entrepreneurial, right-to-work state.” Another applauded the state’s
tax climate, regulatory environment, incentive programs and work-force development efforts.

Site Selection reported that 40 percent of the new U.S. jobs created since June 2009 were created in Texas. A ranking by NewGeography.com supports that.

That site’s “Best Cities for Job Growth 2011″ rankings look at employment data over time across three population tiers. In the small
metros category, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood placed first, College Station-Bryan third and Midland fourth. El Paso placed first in
the midsize tier, followed by Corpus Christi and, in fourth, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.  In the large tier, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos placed first, Houston-Sugar
Land-Baytown third, San Antonio-New Braunfels fourth and Dallas-Plano-Irving fifth.

Those jobs mean demand for office space, another area in which Texas has stood out. Houston, Austin and Dallas finished in the top ten markets
nationally in office space demand, according to an analysis by national real estate services firm Cassidy Turley. The firm found those
three markets alone accounted for nearly 20 percent of all net demand in third quarter 2011.

“Other markets in Texas are also positive,” said Kevin Thorpe, chief economist with Cassidy Turley. “The U.S. is a mixed-bag story, with
many negative markets and many positive markets. In Texas, it’s positive across the board.”

TYLER (Texas Veterans Land Board) – Generations of veterans gathered Wednesday in Tyler to dedicate what Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson called a “one-of-a-kind” home for Texas veterans. Patterson said Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home is “nothing less than a model for the future of long-term care.” What makes the facility unique? It’s the only state veterans home in Texas that consists of ten cottages, each centered around an open kitchen and one common building. Family-style meals will be served at the table, and residents can enjoy each other’s company afterward in a large living room with a fireplace. “The kitchen is the heart of any home,” Patterson said. “Instead of one large, hospital-like facility, Watkins-Logan-Garrison Texas State Veterans Home draws residents together around the dinner table every day, just like at home.”
The Tyler facility was built on 20 acres donated by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. A grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs paid for 65 percent of the construction costs. The remainder was covered by a grant from the Veterans Land Board.
The home was named in honor of three local heroes, two Medal of Honor recipients and a Tuskegee airman: Travis Earl Watkins, James Marion Logan and Samuel M. Garrison. It joins seven other Texas State Veterans Homes across the state in Amarillo, Big Spring, Bonham, El Paso, Floresville, McAllen and Temple. For more on this story, listen to Edie Craig’s “Small Towns, Big Deals” report on this week’s Real Estate Red Zone podcast.