Some coveted neighborhoods of Houston, where top-end luxury apartments rose en masse, are now seeing some of the sharpest drops, as the apartment glut in the weakened economy continues to take hold.

Economists and the latest monthly reports on Houston's apartment market reveal the signs of a depressed market, particularly in Montrose, River Oaks, the Museum District, the Galleria and The Woodlands. These markets are also among the most expensive and were targeted for new projects during Houston's boom years.

Yet, Chuck Ehmann, real estate economist for Axiometrics, said while there are still dropping rent and occupancies, there are signs of that changing. The October apartment market data shows that among Class A, or the top-end product, the drop is lessening. The Class A product declined 6.4 percent in October, compared with more than 7 percent in the previous months.

"It seems to have bottomed out," Ehmann said. "While there is still a concern, we feel the worst might be behind us."

More Information Houston apartment snapshot Neighborhoods in Houston have seen weakness, thanks to a glut of new units: » Montrose/River Oaks: -8.0 percent rent growth; $1,576/month average rent » Braeswood/Bellaire: -6.3 percent ; $1,304/month » Briar Forest/Ashford: -5.2 percent; $983/month » Briar Grove/Westchase: -5.1 percent ; $1,047/month » Brazoria County: -3.7 percent; $1,217/month Source: Axiometrics; October 2016 market report

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Yet, he acknowledged Houston was hit with a "double whammy" when a glut of apartments came to the market as oil prices dropped and Houston saw job losses in the key sector.

He compared the market to Dallas, which had a similar apartment boom, but has been continuing to bring in jobs and population. Rents continue to grow there, and the new complexes fill up.

Ehmann said he expects continued growth in Houston for 2017, despite the bad news of recent years. Markets like Montrose and The Woodlands, however, will continue to struggle, he predicted.

"Things are improving," he said. "We anticipate that the Houston market will bounce back. There are only so many oil and gas jobs that can be cut. Going forward, it will be a market that will continue to improve. We anticipate that it will be back up among its peers in a year or two."

Commenting on the multifamily market this week, University of Houston economist Bill Gilmer said after oil prices started to fall, Houston developers continued to build, expanding the local multifamily market by 30 percent.

"We just could not quit building these apartments," the director of the Bauer College's Institute of Regional Forecasting said during his semiannual economic update Thursday. "Sure enough, there are some problems arising."

Landlords are offering so many move-in specials that Gilmer noted a thread on the Houston Reddit website that lists all the buildings with deals of up to three months free rent.

Even with the glut, Gilmer said the market will avoid a complete meltdown because vacancy was so tight as recently as 2014.

"We've had a history of strong rents and low vacancies. That saves this market as we move forward," he said.

Still, average rents have peaked and vacancy rates in some Inner Loop neighborhoods could be above 10 and 20 percent by year's end.

Multifamily construction will also peak this year, falling from more than 27,000 units to nearly 8,000 units next year, according to Gilmer's projections. In 2018, fewer than 2,000 units are expected to be built.

Bruce McClenny of Houston-based Apartment Data Services said rents and occupancy among top-end luxury apartments continue to slip. But he said recent months have shown that this has trickled down to the lower-end older products.

"The economy is so slow that we are starting to see the move-outs overtake the move-ins," McClenny said. "It's kind of a slow, agonizing thing that is going on. ... For renters, it is a good thing because there are a lot of good deals out there. "

According to Apartment Data Services, the Katy, Spring and the Energy Corridor are filling apartments at a somewhat stable rate, even with some signs of rent and occupancy drops.

The east side of the region, where petrochemical construction had buoyed an otherwise slow economy, will see more weakness, he said.

As construction jobs finish, fewer people will need to live on the blue-collar east side and drops in occupancy and rents will be seen, McClenny said.

"That will be a concern for 2017," he said. "That's also going to be a drag on the overall numbers."