HOUSTON—The Houston economy is resilient. Recent market statistics and activity indicate that Houston's entrepreneurial spirit is alive and that the recovery is underway. Now the question is how long until equilibrium is reached.

In the wake of an energy industry downturn that caused oil prices to plummet and rocked energy-exposed office and industrial markets across North America, most of those markets began to recover in 2017, according to CBRE's 2017 North American energy trends report. Oil producers are adapting to the new landscape by restructuring to focus on onshore operations, increasing rig and operator efficiency, and exploring alternative energy sources.

“Improving crude oil prices since early 2016, now slightly above $60 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate crude, could prove to be an industry tipping point for increased operations and profit margins. The long and seemingly unending hike back to this price level was broken as December drew to a close, and this is encouraging news for Houston. Labor indexes continue to rise overall for the energy industry with employment activity concentrated in the services segment. As a result, the largest rehiring effects are service related as demand for drilling activity expands,” said Robert Kramp, CBRE director of research and analysis.