Berkadia: Houston vacancy and rent comparison 1Q 2016

​HOUSTON​​ - ​Berkadia has released the apartment vacancy and rent comparison report for first quarter 2016.​​

Despite headwinds faced by the energy sector, Houston employment expanded 0.3 percent, or by 10,400 jobs, in the last four quarters. ​​

A testament to the strength of underlying market fundamentals, rental demand was healthy with 5,680 newly occupied apartments in 1Q 2016​​​, up 85 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Compared to the previous quarter, vacancy lowered 30 basis points to 5.9 percent in the first three months of 2016. Even with the latest decline, vacancy was 20 basis points higher than one year ago following a sharp increase in the rate during the second half 2015.​