HAA Blog
Ghosts of Markets Past
Posted by Communications Department
on Tuesday, October 21, 2014
The Houston apartment market has performed with the power and spirit of recent markets past. In 2012, the market conjured a 5.5 percent rent growth performance, going from an overall average of $794 to $838 per month. Then in 2013, the market channeled a 6.2 percent improvement in rent by adding $66 per month to the overall average. The current average monthly rent now stands at $920, which represents an out-of-this-world 8.8 percent trend over the last 12 months.
The market has been positively transformed by the demand created from job growth. The ratio of all the job growth (299,000 jobs) to the total absorption (46,030 units) over the past three years results in one occupied unit for every 6.5 jobs, which is very close to the 6-to-1 ratio of jobs to units absorbed that the apartment industry traditionally relies upon to estimate demand.
Despite the ample amount of absorption, the movement of overall occupancy since the paranormal rent growth began in 2012 has remained mysteriously flat, and the overall occupancy level masks significant shifts in occupancy between Class A and Class C. This occupancy role reversal is the market’s adaptation of Freaky Friday!
Read the full report here.