The properties offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units with a variety of amenities, including fireplaces, walk-in closets, dishwashers, ceiling fans, hardwood floors, built-in bookshelves, gated access, clubhouses, fitness centers and swimming pools.

Indeed, although single-family detached homes constitute 61% of Houston's housing stock, the number of multifamily properties and townhomes is growing at a faster rate and is consistent with Houstonians' living preferences, according to a recent report from Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. However, the report noted, the area's growth has eclipsed housing production and resulted in a tighter market, GlobeSt.com learns. The report also warned that the decline of older, more affordable housing units that have been replaced by newer and often more expensive units raises concerns about the threat of gentrification.

The report, Taking Stock, describes the array of housing options available in Harris County, the central and most populous county in the Houston metropolitan area. Using 2016 data from the Harris County appraisal district, report author and former Kinder Institute researcher Kelsey Walker examined the age and structure of residential buildings and considered how single-family detached homes, multifamily properties with five or more units, single-family attached homes (townhomes) and multifamily properties with fewer than five units contribute to the countywide housing supply.

Walker also compared building records from 2016 with 2007 to assess how the region's residential building stock has grown and matured since the peak of the housing bubble. She identified the five neighborhoods with the highest population densities in Harris County to examine the composition of the housing stock and the population of each neighborhood, GlobeSt.com learns.

“Taking Stock highlights really foundational patterns about the age, type and density of Harris County's housing stock,” Walker said. “It helps us understand how the market is changing the type of housing being built and highlights areas of the county where gaps in particular housing types may be emerging.”

The report found that more than 97% of Harris County's housing stock is either single-family detached homes (61%) or larger multifamily properties with five or more units (37%). However, the supply of larger multifamily properties and single-family attached homes (townhomes) is growing faster (at 14% and 13.7%, respectively) than the stock of single-family detached homes (at 12.2%).

Walker said this shift reflects the living preferences of the Houston population. However, she said, population growth since 2010 has eclipsed the production of housing in Harris County. The result is a tighter market, with only 8% of all units vacant in 2015.

“The countywide vacancy rate is lower today than at any point in the past 10 years,” she said.

According to the report, Gulfton and Westwood, both located between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 in southwestern Houston, are by far the densest communities in Harris County. Large multifamily properties built between 1960 and 1984 account for 93% of housing in each community. Pecan Park, Mid-West and Montrose, also among the county's densest communities, achieve comparable levels of population density through wildly different configurations of building types. While large multifamily structures account for most of the housing in Montrose and Mid-West, single-family detached homes account for a majority of the units in Pecan Park.

HOUSTON—While Houston's class-A multifamily sector continues a prolonged struggle in terms of lease up and vacancy rates, class-B and -C properties remained stronger performers across a variety of metrics. This, combined with continued strength in single-family home sales, allows the residential market to see silver linings among any clouds, according to Q10 Kinghorn, Driver.

In an example of strong performance in that class-B category, a mega multifamily portfolio was recently funded. Berkadia arranged more than $130 million in financing for H7, a portfolio of seven class-B multifamily properties. Managing director Ed Kim of Berkadia's Irvine, CA office originated the refinancing.

The floating rate bridge loan, secured through a CMBS lender, featured a 75% loan-to-value ratio. Totaling more than 2,000 units, the portfolio had an average occupancy rate greater than 93% at closing.

“The solid rent growth and stable occupancy in the Houston class-B multifamily space, coupled with a decline in interest rates, has fueled an increase in apartment refinances,” Kim said. “The lender was able to meet the borrower's required timeline, which was aggressive, and provide a favorable structure accretive for the sponsor's investment thesis.”

The properties offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units with a variety of amenities, including fireplaces, walk-in closets, dishwashers, ceiling fans, hardwood floors, built-in bookshelves, gated access, clubhouses, fitness centers and swimming pools.

Indeed, although single-family detached homes constitute 61% of Houston's housing stock, the number of multifamily properties and townhomes is growing at a faster rate and is consistent with Houstonians' living preferences, according to a recent report from Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. However, the report noted, the area's growth has eclipsed housing production and resulted in a tighter market, GlobeSt.com learns. The report also warned that the decline of older, more affordable housing units that have been replaced by newer and often more expensive units raises concerns about the threat of gentrification.

The report, Taking Stock, describes the array of housing options available in Harris County, the central and most populous county in the Houston metropolitan area. Using 2016 data from the Harris County appraisal district, report author and former Kinder Institute researcher Kelsey Walker examined the age and structure of residential buildings and considered how single-family detached homes, multifamily properties with five or more units, single-family attached homes (townhomes) and multifamily properties with fewer than five units contribute to the countywide housing supply.

Walker also compared building records from 2016 with 2007 to assess how the region's residential building stock has grown and matured since the peak of the housing bubble. She identified the five neighborhoods with the highest population densities in Harris County to examine the composition of the housing stock and the population of each neighborhood, GlobeSt.com learns.

“Taking Stock highlights really foundational patterns about the age, type and density of Harris County's housing stock,” Walker said. “It helps us understand how the market is changing the type of housing being built and highlights areas of the county where gaps in particular housing types may be emerging.”

The report found that more than 97% of Harris County's housing stock is either single-family detached homes (61%) or larger multifamily properties with five or more units (37%). However, the supply of larger multifamily properties and single-family attached homes (townhomes) is growing faster (at 14% and 13.7%, respectively) than the stock of single-family detached homes (at 12.2%).

Walker said this shift reflects the living preferences of the Houston population. However, she said, population growth since 2010 has eclipsed the production of housing in Harris County. The result is a tighter market, with only 8% of all units vacant in 2015.

“The countywide vacancy rate is lower today than at any point in the past 10 years,” she said.

According to the report, Gulfton and Westwood, both located between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 in southwestern Houston, are by far the densest communities in Harris County. Large multifamily properties built between 1960 and 1984 account for 93% of housing in each community. Pecan Park, Mid-West and Montrose, also among the county's densest communities, achieve comparable levels of population density through wildly different configurations of building types. While large multifamily structures account for most of the housing in Montrose and Mid-West, single-family detached homes account for a majority of the units in Pecan Park.