HOUSTON-During 2013, Houston's metro economy continued improving, adding 80,700 jobs through August 2013 and increasing payroll employment by 3% during the same period. Experts at Transwestern's annual TrendLines conference on Nov. 12 said jobs will continue to be added between now and 2015, which will bode well across all commercial real estate sectors during that same time period.

Following former Secretary of Education William Bennett's keynote presentation, Greg Leisch, CEO of Transwestern research arm Delta Associates pointed out that the area's energy, construction and transportation sectors are bolstering growth, while the leisure/hospitality sector is also expanding. As a result, 91,700 jobs will be added to the Houston economy over the next two-year period, which is comparable to the growth experienced during the last expansion cycle (2005-2007).

As such:

• The office market will continue growing, though the Delta Associates experts caution that the very full construction pipeline means vacancy rates will stabilizes over the next two years in the low-11% range. For this same reason, though rents will continue rising, that increase won't be out of control.

• On the industrial side, continued demand means rent increases during the remainder of this year and well into 2014, especially among warehouse/distribution product. Expect continued low vacancy rates as well.

• The increase in population means more demand for multifamily product. Strong demand and declining vacancies means apartment owners and managers have pushed rents to record levels in 2014.

• Retail has also improved, with more expansion predicted during the remainder of the year and throughout 2014.

• Finally, investment sales have returned to peak levels in Houston. Investor interest in Houston commercial real estate will continue, thanks to drivers such as energy.