"Overall market conditions still appear basically sound,"assesses Greg Willett, director of research for Carrollton-basedM/PF Research."Developers have done a good job holding recentapartment starts to a reasonable level so there won't be a flood ofnew product delivered in the immediate future."

Construction, primarily all class A, is at levels seen inmid-1997, Willett tells GlobeSt.com. At the Q3 close, constructioncrews were working on 13,082 units. That's a drop of 2,357 unitsfrom third quarter 2000, a year that ended with more than 24,000completions.

It's a good amount of supply, but definitely "pales compared tothe recent peak of deliveries," Willett explains. From 1996 to2000, 17,000 units delivered each year.Northeastern Tarrant Countyis the most fertile construction ground, with more than 2,700 unitsunder way in the suburbs of Euless, Grapevine, Keller, Haltom Cityand North Richland Hills. That corridor is still poised "to becomea new important apartment marketplace," according to Willett. It'sall thanks to large job centers and limited land in nearbyestablished areas such as Las Colinas and Valley Ranch. Still thearea with the proverbial brass ring is untested water for the typeof demand that's sure to come in the next year or so.