The downturn in the upstream oil and gas industry, caused by the low prices of these commodities, has been the subject of continuous examination and prognostication since its onset in late 2014, particularly in the Houston region. Though it has diversified its economy somewhat since the 1980s, when its overdependence on that industry brought ruin to its economy, Houston remains the large Texas metro most economically tied to oil and gas. Houston benefited from those ties from 2011 to 2014, during the period of surging fortunes in that sector, by adding 380,000 jobs. However, because this tremendous boom in employment was less economically diversified than the region’s overall economy, when upstream oil and gas abruptly switched from growth to contraction, so did the region’s growth prospects. Houston’s other economic sectors at this point are not growing substantially enough to keep net growth strongly positive in terms of jobs. So far they are merely keeping the region in an essentially stagnant condition. The Push for Amenities All sectors of Houston-area real estate have felt an impact from this reversal, but to varying extents. The apartment market, which is traditionally among the sectors most directly tied to current employment levels, is receiving …
