Realty.com Acquires Houston Office Tower

363 North Belt. Image by Mabry Campbell via JLL

Online brokerage platform Realty.com has purchased a 20-story office building in Houston. The company acquired 363 North Belt from Manny Khoshbin, a private investor and founder of The Khoshbin Co., for an undisclosed price.

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The 386,277-square-foot office tower was built on a 3.79-acre site in 1982. Later in 2012, the North Houston property underwent a renovation, achieving LEED Gold certification. The building also includes a fitness center, conference facility, restaurant/deli, 24-hour security and a seven-story parking structure with 1,182 spaces.

Located at 363 N. Sam Houston Parkway E., 363 North Belt is also situated east of Interstate 45 and the North Sam Houston Parkway interchange. The location allows tenants a close commute to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport and a roughly 20-minute drive to downtown Houston.

JLL’s Martin Hogan and Kevin McConn from the Capital Markets team represented Khoshbin and also procured Realty.com, which was represented by its CEO Lance Custen.

Houston market hit hard by COVID-19

While some office spaces have reopened, many companies are delaying a return to the office due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With continuing uncertainty in the office market, Houston was particularly affected, according to JLL’s second quarter report on the area.

On top of the dip caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the Houston office market was already facing challenges due to a volatile energy market and from coming off the recent recession. Leasing activity slowed significantly, and Houston’s office vacancy grew to 23.1 percent, with companies moving out of their unused space. Due to Houston’s reliance on the energy market and the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the office market is expected to continue its softening trend, including higher vacancies, lower asking rents and more concessions for the next year or so.