Houston apartments, but New York prices

The most expensive apartments in town are in the Montrose/Museum District, where some units are so pricey it can feel more like New York City than Houston.

The average rent in that area is $1.71 per square foot per month, according to a fourth-quarter report from commercial real estate firm CBRE.

While a renter can still find an apartment there for under $2,000, some landlords are pushing the envelope on pricing.

Take the Museum Tower, a luxury high-rise building at 4899 Montrose, where a one-bedroom is listed online for $3,685 per month and a two-bedroom with a study is about double that.

The Heights has the second most expensive rents at an average of $1.67 per square foot per month, the report shows. Rents jumped 6.4 percent there from the end of September to the end of last year.

For all of 2013, occupancy rates across the area were above 90 percent, as companies expanded and brought well-paid employees into Houston.

Leasing activity has been outpacing previous years by thousand of units per year.

A new complex, 2900 West Dallas, is averaging 50 leases a month since the leasing office opened in October.

Demand is particularly strong inside the 610 Loop, where 38 percent of all the new multi- family construction is taking place.

Condo development

The owner of a historic building just east of downtown that had fallen into foreclosure after a 2010 renovation is converting the property to condominiums in hope that buying has picked up in this neighborhood near the BBVA Compass Stadium, light rail line and a growing restaurant hub.

The property, formerly a condo development called the EaDo Lofts, is owned by Patriot Bank, which had been leasing the units after taking back the keys from the previous developer.

The building is now called Promenade Place.

It's at 2323 Polk, on Dowling, a few blocks east of U.S. 59 and on the edge of an upcoming multiblock green space project called the International Promenade.

The property also is close to St. Emanuel, one of the most active streets east of downtown that's home to Little Woodrow's, Mojeaux, Lucky's Pub and a new food truck park. The 8th Wonder Brewery recently opened a block from the condos.

The 29-unit residential building has one- and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 805 to 2,315 square feet. They are priced from $186,000 to $446,000.

The 1920s warehouse originally had two stories, but two additional floors were added during the renovation. Historical architectural elements were combined with modern finishes like stained-concrete floors, granite kitchen counters and stainless steel appliances. Some units have large patios and balconies.

Tarantino Properties is marketing the condos.

North, farther north

In Houston's northern suburbs, a far-flung region generally known for housing affordability, companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Southwestern Energy are fueling demand for upscale homes with soaring price tags as they bring thousands of high-paying jobs to the area.

A new community underway just north of The Woodlands is expected to have homes priced from the $600,000s into the millions.

"This development is approximately 10 miles from the new Exxon Mobil campus and will be an option for people wanting a new home in the area, especially since The Woodlands is nearing closeout," Tom Cox Jr., president of Gracepoint Homes, said in a statement announcing the project, which is in the Conroe school district.

Gracepoint, a homebuilder that recently started developing land for housing as well, bought 156 acres for the community, called The Forest.

The Montgomery County property is just west of Interstate 45 and south of FM 1488.

Home sales are expected to start early next year.

It's not just brand-new homes that are getting more expensive north of town.

The average price of a single-family home in The Woodlands was $444,647 in January. That's 13 per- cent higher than a year earlier, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.