The San Antonio commercial real estate market is already doing better than last year and one of the influencing factors is the increase in oil & gas industry activity from the Eagle Ford Shale. Chesapeake Energy opened an office recently and Baker Hughes plans a 400 person office southeast of the city. Those are two of the largest deals, but many more will follow as service companies and producers move closer to manage their South Texas Eagle Ford operations. The Eagle Ford rig count in the 30 county area we watch was 227 rigs as of last Friday, August 19. As operators continue delineating their acreage, there's no indication that will change dramatically in the near future.

While the market isn’t experiencing a boom, commercial real estate in San Antonio is starting to rally.

“San Antonio has been spared, we’re doing fairly well,” said Kim Gatley, senior vice president and director of research for NAI REOC. “And now we’re starting to see some traction of improvement. We’re starting to see an uptick, an improvement in the market.”

Another helping hand is expected to come from the energy sector, Gatley said. As activity associated with Eagle Ford shale starts to heat up, she anticipates more businesses moving to the Alamo City.

“Just when you think things can’t get any worse, they get better,” said Terri Rubiola, a vice president at DH Realty Partners. “It’s already better than last year, and we’re optimistic that it will continue to get better.”

Read the entire news release at mysanantonio.com