DALLAS–  After a strong year in the Texas multifamily market, national multifamily services firm Pinnacle announced the addition of a new East Division to oversee growth in growing markets.

The newly formed East Division, is led by Executive Vice President Woody Stone, is comprised of the major markets from Denver to Washington D.C.

“We have great expectations for the East Division as we continue to grow our established markets as well as our key growth markets of Denver, Houston, Atlanta, and the Carolinas,” said Stone.

Houston's multifamily market closed 2013 with one of the healthiest years on record. Class A properties saw rent growth of 6.6% in 2013 and due to steady demand 2014 will see rents climb 4.5% - 5.0% predicts Bruce McClenny, President of Apartment Data Services.

“Houston will be in good shape for the next five years,” McClenny said Tuesday at the Houston Apartment Association's annual State of the Industry Breakfast. He said the citywide occupancy rate had climbed to 90.5% at year-end 2013, up from 89.5% at the start of 2013.

In addition, Pinnacle announced the hiring of Regional Vice President Greg Mark to develop its presence in the Southeast.

“2013 was an exceptional year for Pinnacle,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Graf, “We added more than 10,000 new units to our portfolio and grew our institutional client base significantly with such clients as TIAA CREF, Henderson Global Investors, AEW, UBS, Capri Capital Partners, Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, and Starlight U.S. Multifamily. Additionally, we are excited about the 25 Class A developments we are managing through the various stages of lease-up. With development continuing to be steady in 2014, we fully anticipate growing our pre-development, marketing, and lease-up teams.”

The Pinnacle Family of Companies, headquartered in Dallas, is a national real estate provider, specializing in strategic investments, development and management of multifamily residential communities. Pinnacle's portfolio includes nearly 135,000 residential units and 2 million square feet of commercial assets.