Flex Space Feasibility Study in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) lending in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
A rank of 4 of 312 for investor buildings
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands places 4 of 312 in the national ranking of metro and micro areas by lessor loans, the class that includes flex, office and retail investor buildings, yet inside the metro the class is 20 of 39. SBA lists 38 loans totaling $65.2 million. The median of $1.2 million is 2.08x the national figure, with quartile edges of $568,950 and $2.4 million, and the location quotient is 1.21x.
How to read this class
Flex, office and retail lessors share one industry code and so run together here, meaning these loans cover investor-owned commercial buildings generally. SBA lending to such lessors nearly stops from FY2024, which explains why the last two fiscal years in this cell are empty. Flex gives no 7(a) or 504 figures and no franchise share. Harris County, TX carries 27 loans and Fort Bend County, TX 5.
Years that print
FY2018 printed 6 loans and $7.5 million, FY2021 9 and $20.8 million, the biggest year, FY2022 5 and $7.3 million, and FY2023 8 and $11.9 million. FY2025 and FY2026 print 0 loans and $0. FY2017, FY2019, FY2020 and FY2024 are withheld. Nor does any holder reach the listing line.
Cancellation and the missing loss rate
Cancellation after approval hit 15.8% or more of the FY2017 to FY2024 Houston flex approvals, and a ceiling counting undisbursed loans lands on 15.8% too. The charge-off rate stays withheld, which does not make it zero. Harris and Fort Bend counties are in this count because the 2023 list names them.
Testing a Houston flex building
Because the data cannot isolate flex buildings, a study of one must stand on its own evidence: tenant demand from light industrial, showroom and small-office users, submarket vacancy and asking rents, and the flood and drainage conditions that matter in the Houston area. Cost covers shell, loading, parking and tenant improvements. Run coverage at $1.2 million and near $2.4 million with a slow lease-up. The appraiser should value the building on income and note lessor lending has nearly stopped since FY2024. Zoning, clear heights and dock counts also decide who will lease the space, so a study should list them early.
SBA nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) loans in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 38 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $65.2 million |
| Median loan | $1.2 million |
| Middle half of loans, from | $568,950 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $2.4 million |
| SBA 7(a) loans | withheld |
| SBA 504 loans | withheld |
| Franchise share of loans | withheld |
| Rank among metro and micro areas for nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) loans | 4 of 312 |
| Rank of nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) among the classes in this area | 20 of 39 |
| Location quotient (share of loans against the national share) | 1.21x |
| Median loan against the national median for the class | 2.08x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 15.8% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 15.8% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | withheld |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) loans approved in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2018 | 6 | $7.5 million |
| FY2019 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2020 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2021 | 9 | $20.8 million |
| FY2022 | 5 | $7.3 million |
| FY2023 | 8 | $11.9 million |
| FY2024 | withheld | withheld |
| FY2025 | 0 | $0 |
| FY2026 | 0 | $0 |
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Harris County, TX | 27 |
| Fort Bend County, TX | 5 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
Flex space cannot be separated from office or retail lessors. Nearly stops from FY2024.
Shared code: Flex, office, retail and banquet hall rental share 531120.
SBA lending in this class almost stops from FY2024: SBA treats most lessor businesses as passive and ineligible, so the record here is mostly older loans.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-26420-C09.
Related feasibility study pages
- Nonresidential lessor feasibility study company
- Feasibility Study Data for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area
- Flex Space Feasibility Study in Texas
- Texas feasibility study company
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- Feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
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