Construction will begin in Q4 on Camden Downtown, Camden's 20-story, 550-unit residential tower near the Toyota Center, CEO Ric Campo announced on a quarterly earnings call. Leasing will start in Q4 2018. The project was originally scheduled to break ground in 2015 but was put on ice when the market softened. Now, with the pipeline emptying and construction costs lowering, Camden thinks the time is ripe.

"Based on our view that there will be limited completions and competition from new developments in 2019 and 2020, we've decided to go forward with the construction of our Downtown Houston project," Campo said on the call. "Camden Downtown represents a countercyclical opportunity to lock in construction costs at a time when it's difficult for developers to get equity or construction financing."

Based in Houston and with 25 properties in the submarket, Camden has been particularly exposed to Houston's oil downturn, experiencing historic rent declines.