Oil Industry Slump Leaves Its Mark On Houston Apartment Market
The drop in oil industry employment is finally impacting apartments in the Houston area. Axiometrics’ latest report shows that Houston apartments were 93.2% occupied in January, 29 bps lower than December and 82 bps lower than the 94% of January 2015. While folks easily make a connection between employment and home purchasing, Axiometrics' research points to one between employment and opting to rent. That’s impacting pricing: Rent growth across the metro has decreased for the seventh straight month, and 12 out of the past 13 months.