Midland-Odessa multifamily dynamics shift with energy market

​​​​MIDLAND-ODESSA – Apartment developers provided more than 1,050 units between the sister cities in the 13 quarters ending in first quarter 2014, preceding the peak in oil prices.

As oil prices moved towards, then past, $100 per barrel, new completions struggled to keep pace with demand for roughly 1,340 units.

That imbalance made lease-up little trouble. Occupancy in Midland-Odessa tightened to an average of 97.7 percent over that boom phase, peaking at 99.2 percent in 2012.

The bust phase, the 21 months ending March 2016, saw net job loss of roughly 9,000 positions, with the Mining, Logging and Construction employment base contracting 80 percent, according to figures from the Department of Labor.

Over that time frame, net apartment demand swung into negative territory as nearly 1,540 new units that came online.