Houston Multifamily Market, Q3 2026

The Houston metro had 3,489,400 nonfarm jobs in September 2026, 33,600 (1.0%) more than in September 2025 (BLS, series SMU48264200000000001). The figures are preliminary and not seasonally adjusted, so each month is compared with the same month a year earlier. The unemployment rate was 4.6% in September 2026 (BLS, series LAUMT482642000000003, preliminary). Of the 11 metros in our best places to invest in multifamily comparison, only Dallas-Fort Worth added more jobs.

The Census Bureau estimates 7,904,627 residents on July 1, 2025, up 126,720 (1.63%) from a year earlier. Net international migration added 71,903 people and net domestic migration 7,308 (Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 metro estimates). The metro covers ten counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller.

Each source counts the pipeline its own way and over its own period, so the counts differ:

• Under construction: over 11,500 units in Q3 2026, 37.0% fewer than a year earlier and more than 70% below the Q1 2023 peak of 40,126 (Cushman & Wakefield); 13,847 units at the end of Q3 2026 (Greater Houston Partnership); 13,274 units in Q2 2026, down 29.3% from a year earlier (Colliers).
• Completed: just over 4,500 units in Q3 2026 (Cushman & Wakefield) and 4,795 in Q3 2026 (Greater Houston Partnership); 11,542 units in the 12 months to Q2 2026, down 38.4%, against 24,869 delivered in 2024 (Matthews); 15,766 units over the four quarters to Q3 2026 (MMG Real Estate Advisors).
• Absorbed (the net change in leased units): nearly 3,300 units in Q3 2026 and over 9,800 in the year to date (Cushman & Wakefield); 7,008 in Q2 2026, 15.5% above the five-year average for a second quarter, with Class A properties taking 65.7% (Colliers); 11,929 over the 12 months to Q3 2026 (Greater Houston Partnership); 9,704 over the four quarters to Q3 2026 (MMG).
• Permitted: 7,108 units in buildings with five or more units from January to September 2026, or 0.9 per 1,000 residents (Census Bureau building permits). A permit counts a building approved, not one started or finished.

The latest reports put Houston vacancy between 6.19% and 11.7%, and occupancy between 87.6% and 91.6%. They measure different things:

• Which buildings. Each firm surveys its own set of properties, by size, age and class.
• Stabilized or every unit. Yardi Matrix reports occupancy in stabilized properties, which leaves out buildings still in their first lease-up. A figure that counts every unit in the market reads lower while many new buildings are leasing.
• Asking or effective rent. Asking rent is the advertised price. Effective rent subtracts concessions such as free weeks, so it reads lower when concessions are common.
• When. The reports cover periods from April 2026 to Q3 2026.

The two government measures are a check on the private reports, and they cover every rented home, not only apartments. The American Community Survey's median gross rent adds utilities to the rent: $1,550 for the Houston metro in 2025 (Census table B25064), and the median renter household's gross rent was 31.5% of its income (Census table B25071). Both are survey estimates with margins of error. The Consumer Price Index for rent of primary residence in the Houston area was 0.5% lower in September 2026 than a year earlier (BLS, series CUURS37BSEHA).

The other figures above come from Cushman & Wakefield, the Greater Houston Partnership, MMG Real Estate Advisors, Matthews, Northmarq and Yardi Matrix. In March 2026 the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas wrote that “rents are still declining in most Texas metro areas” and that concessions ranged “from six to eight weeks of free rent to as much as 10 to 12 weeks in some Texas submarkets” (Dallas Fed, Southwest Economy).

What the latest reports show:

• Matthews reports a cap rate of 6.28% in Q2 2026, up for eight straight quarters, and a price per unit of $142,420. Sales volume over the 12 months to Q2 2026 was $6.0 billion, up 19.4%; Q2 alone was $946 million, down 38.6% from a year earlier (Matthews, Q2 2026).
• Northmarq reports year-to-date sales through Q2 2026 up 31% from the same period of 2025 (Northmarq, Q2 2026).

A cap rate is a property's net operating income divided by its price. For how it differs from cash-on-cash return and IRR, see Cap Rate vs. Cash-on-Cash vs. IRR.

The same measures for the two Texas metros, one source per row:

The Dallas-Fort Worth multifamily market page lists that metro’s sources, and Texas multifamily covers the state. The best places to invest in multifamily post compares more U.S. metros.

EagleCap Legacy Wealth Partners is a multifamily real estate investment firm founded in the Tri-Cities, Washington, in 2018 by Justin Pratt and his son, Jarom Pratt. It buys and improves value-add apartment communities in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth metros for accredited investors across the United States. Its team works from Utah and Texas.

This page describes the market; it is not a recommendation or an offer.

How this page is built. Government figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, through the series and tables linked on this page. Broker and research figures are quoted as each firm published them, with its name and period; EagleCap does not estimate, adjust or average them. Forecasts are left out; the linked reports carry their own. The page is refreshed once a quarter, about six to seven weeks after the quarter ends, when the main reports are out. The next update is planned for mid-February 2027.