To date, 11, 865 units have been absorbed. That means Houston need only absorb roughly 635 units per month for the rest of the year to meet last year's total of 13,771. On average, the city has been absorbing 1,318 units per month in an inventory of about 442,000 apartments.

Construction has slowed, but still there are 4,313 units being readied for market. The peak came at year's start when 6,835 units were coming out of the ground.

In line with the activity, a CB Richard Ellis team recently completed the sale of Barcley Square, a 324-unit complex at 10070 Westpark in the city's Westchase submarket. Trivest Real Estate of Dallas bought the class B complex from Dalcor, also of Dallas. Trivest Westpark LP is the official buyer of record. G. Craig LaFollette, senior vice president, J. Todd Stewart, senior vice president and Marix, all with CB Richard Ellis' Houston office, represented Dalcor in the deal.

Marix tells GlobeSt.com that the new owner is planning a major renovation of the 24-year-old complex. The renovation is in keeping with Trivest's strategy to buy, upgrade and reposition complexes, while putting its own management team on site. The good location and repositioning opportunity make it a sweet deal for Trivest, says Marix.

Barcley Square has fallen behind its progressive Westchase neighbors on property improvements, according to Marix. Consequently, rents and occupancy lag the market's average. At sale time, Barcley Square's occupancy was in the mid-80%s in comparison to the 90% and up indicative of the Westchase submarket.