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In an update from the Texas Real Estat Center at Texas A&M, there's a pent-up demand in Austin's apartment market.

That could change soon, says Marcus & Millichap in the firm's second quarter 2012 Austin apartment market report.

According to the report, "tight conditions and rising rents have prompted a turnaround in Austin apartment development, with completions in 2012 expected to reach 3,000 units after slipping to a nearly 20-year low last year."

Other findings from the report:

• Rising job creation will support sufficient renter demand to offset this year’s spike in apartment completions. Overall, apartment vacancy in the Austin metro will decline 60 basis points in 2012 year to 4.3 percent.

• Asking rents will rise 4.2 percent in 2012 to $925 per month, while effective rents climb 5.6 percent to $851 per month. By year end, asking and effective rents will exceed previous peak levels recorded in late-2008 by 6.3 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

"The combination of low vacancy and above-average rent growth will continue to attract apartment investors to Austin this year," the report says.