Most of the more than 12,000 units under construction in Austin are aimed at the high end of the market, where rents have softened with the Austin economy. Just one complex in the first half of the year was a tax-credit project, according to M/PF Research, the Carrollton, TX apartment research firm.

Hunt Building Corp., headquartered in El Paso, is starting work on the Blunn Creek Apartments near the St. Edward's University campus in South Austin. Rents for the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments range from $557 to $765 per month. They range in size from 730 sf to 1,100 sf. Hunt Building has done more than 245 affordable housing multifamily projects and has assets of more than $2 billion.

The Austin Housing Finance Corp. board approved the issuance of $15 million in bonds for Blunn Creek. The tax-exempt financing came through CharterMac, the New York-based investor in tax-exempt bonds.