Every week we talk with investors holding the same two questions: is this a good year to buy net lease in Texas, and how do I keep a 1031 exchange from turning into a fire drill? The answers are related — and both come down to preparation.
Why Texas NNN Keeps Attracting Capital
Single-tenant net lease remains the entry point of choice for investors who want commercial real estate income without operational load: the tenant handles taxes, insurance, and maintenance; you collect rent backed by a corporate credit. Texas assets carry added appeal — no state income tax, nation-leading population and corporate migration, and retail fundamentals running at low single-digit vacancy statewide with steady rent growth underneath lease escalations.
The discipline is in the underwriting. A NNN deal is three questions wearing one cap rate: how durable is the tenant’s credit, how re-leasable is the real estate if that credit leaves, and how does the remaining lease term line up against your hold plan? A dollar-store cap rate and a ground-leased corner with fifteen years of investment-grade term are different investments, even when the brochure math looks similar. Our investment sales practice underwrites all three before a deal ever reaches your inbox.
Use the commercial real estate cap rate calculator to test NOI, value and rate sensitivity before comparing specific NNN opportunities.
The 1031 Clock Is Not Negotiable — So Beat It
The exchange rules haven’t changed: 45 days from your sale closing to identify replacement property, 180 days to close, with identification typically under the three-property rule or the 200-percent rule. What kills exchanges isn’t the rules — it’s starting the search on day one of the 45.
The playbook that works: begin building the acquisition pipeline before your relinquished property closes, identify a primary target plus genuine backups (not placeholder addresses), and have financing and diligence vendors staged so the 180-day window absorbs a surprise. In a market where the best Texas NNN assets attract multiple offers, an exchange buyer who moves like a cash buyer wins; one who starts shopping in week three of the identification window pays for the pressure.
Where We’re Pointing Exchange Buyers in Texas
Demand-durable corridors: DFW‘s Collin and Denton county growth arcs — home to the nation’s largest retail pipeline — the San Antonio–Austin I-35 corridor towns, the Round Rock and Cedar Park arcs where rooftop growth and premium incomes keep retail tight, and the Georgetown growth spine. Medical-tenanted assets deserve a special mention — healthcare demand doesn’t follow the office-work debate, and medical NNN and condo product remains one of the most defensible holds in the state. More on medical assets here.
One caution: this is general market commentary, not tax advice. Exchange structuring belongs with your CPA and qualified intermediary — our job is making their strategy executable in the real market, on the real calendar.
If you have a sale closing this year, the right time to start the replacement search is before it closes. Send us your criteria and we’ll build the pipeline ahead of your clock.
Put This Insight to Work
Talk through what this means for your lease, acquisition, or disposition with a senior Texas broker. We respond within one business day.
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