We called 2011 the Year of the Shovel in the Hub, and we were not messing around (do we ever, be honest?): The construction has continued unabated into the second half of 2012 now, with groundbreakings, grand openings and announcements the norm. And none of these, of course, come a moment too soon in a market craving fresh residential space, be it micro-apartments or the few family-sized ones developers are offering. Herewith, then, the first-ever Curbed Boston Rental Heatmap: where the new apartment buildings are going up or have recently gone up (NB: renderings included where they're available).

Why now? You crazy? This is prime apartment-hunting season, one especially shadowed by the prospect of record-high rents. Because one of the main reasons for Greater Boston's high rents is the tight supply (the apartment vacancy rate could dip below 3 percent this year), the theory goes that more apartments expand the supply, thereby driving down rents. That's the theory, at least. Never seems to work 'round here. Still, why not know what's coming?

· The Year of the Shovel: Hub Development in 2011 [Curbed Boston]
· Nobody Move! Hot Hub Rents Sear Tenants' Bottom Lines [Curbed Boston]
· Boston's 5,000 New Apartments Won't Mean Lower Rents [Curbed Boston]
· South Boston to Get Hundreds of Manhattan Apartments [Curbed Boston]