Residential development in the District ground to a relative halt during the recession, creating a supply-and-demand scenario that boosted rents in the city and resulted in one of the highest apartment occupancy rates in the country last year. Meanwhile, office development remained healthy during the housing crisis but a slowdown could be in its future, according to an analysis by Delta Associates for the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership.

The city’s apartment vacancy rate was 3.6 percent last year, with the Columbia Heights/Shaw neighborhood having the highest occupancy rate in the District. Meanwhile, rents rose by nearly 3 percent in 2010, according to Delta, which also predicts that vacancy rates will tighten up this year.