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DALLAS-Whether it's bravado or foolhardy development, Texas' multifamily developers haven't been stopped cold by the financial chokehold on new projects prevailing in many markets. There are 55,516 units under construction in the four major metros, with Dallas/Fort Worth at the head of the pack in the 18-month pipeline.

In North Texas, there are 20,585 units being built. Houston's adding 16,282 units while Austin is in line for an additional 13,018 and San Antonio, 5,631, according to a just-released third-quarter report by Carrollton, TX-based M/PF YieldStar. "It's aggressive everywhere. Austin is the one that frankly scares me more than any," Greg Willett, M/PF's vice president of research and analysis, tells GlobeSt.com. "It's over what you'd like to see in all those markets."

Willett says red flags start to rise when construction levels push past 2% of the inventory. Austin's pipeline will add 8% to its 162,280-unit inventory, he says. The existing inventory in Dallas/Fort Worth totals 562,465 units; Houston, 497,010; and San Antonio, 136,455.