The trend nationwide is veering away from home ownership to rental. And developers all over the country are starting construction on apartment units again. Even North Texas, which experienced a virtual construction shutdown in the past year, is seeing a comeback in construction.

The vacant corner of Fairmount and Carlisle streets had been standing a bit forlorn as developers knocked down the old buildings a year ago. But owner Gables Residents, one of Uptown’s biggest apartment landlords, is now looking at restarting the stalled development. The site will soon start construction on a 329-unit rental community.

“We’ve gotten quotes for the project from a couple of lenders. There are some out there wanting to get back into construction lending on multifamily projects,” says Gables’ Tom Bakewell.

The demand for apartment units in North Texas in the last year has far exceeded the supply and vacancy rates are falling. Bakewell validates that even in just the last 45 to 60 days the terms of rents and occupancy have made a dramatic turnaround. This signaled other developers into starting at least one project.

The projects that are underway may be smaller than what were done in the past years but it is still welcome news for developers in North Texas. There have been no groundbreakings in the last year and any construction, no matter how small, is something that the housing industry sees as a good sign. Another big player in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Wood Partners has even tied up a prime block at Belmont and Henderson avenues to build a three-story project.

Other construction sites and costs are being looked at by other apartment builders. Costs are 10% below what they were three years ago and volume of apartment construction a fifth less than its peak of development stream in early 2009 when almost 23,000 units were under way. By the end of September, only 4,300 apartments were built and the number may have been lower if not for the 1,000 starts in the third quarter.

Rents are already increasing in the area and will most probably accelerate, which might produce an accelerated development in 2012. The next round of rental housing construction will probably be seen in Las Colinas, Uptown, and West Plano – the usual hot markets.