Thank you, David, and good morning. In the third quarter, operating assets continue to experience heightened demand and year-over-year growth across each of our 3 core asset types. In total, we delivered an impressive $63 million of net operating income, which represented a 3% improvement compared to the prior year.
Sequentially, NOI declined $5 million, primarily due to onetime lease termination fees during the second quarter at $17.25 Hughes Landing in the Woodlands. This vacated space is already under promising lease negotiations, further exemplifying the strong office demand we are seeing today.
We also experienced a normal seasonal decline from the ballpark in Las Vegas, with reduced attendance through the peak summer months. Looking at our property types in more detail, the most significant year-over-year increase was seen in our multifamily portfolio, which delivered record quarterly NOI of nearly $14 million, an incredible 18% improvement. This growth was primarily driven by a 4.5% average in-place rent growth, along with favorable performance from Starling at Bridgeland and Marlow in Columbia, both of which continued lease-up at an outstanding pace. At quarter end, Starling was 93% leased and Marlow was 55% leased, with both properties achieving these results in a year or less. These improvements were partially offset by initial operating losses from Tanager Echo, the latest addition to our multifamily portfolio in Summerlin, which opened in July, and was 13% leased at quarter end. Overall, our stabilized multifamily properties finished the quarter 96% leased, with Downtown Columbia at 97%, Houston at 96%, and Summerlin at 93%.
Our office portfolio generated third quarter NOI of $29 million, reflecting a 3% year-over-year improvement. This increase was primarily the result of strong lease-up activity and rent abatement expirations in the Woodlands, partially offset by some tenant turnover in our older assets in Downtown Columbia.
In the Woodlands, 9950 Woodloch Forest, our flagship office in this market, has seen tremendous financial improvement with a 31% increase in leased space during the last year. This trophy asset closed the quarter at 91% leased, with the remaining space in negotiation or under expansion options for existing tenants. Overall, with our stabilized office portfolio at 87% leased, we continue to see strong demand for our highly monetized Class A office assets across all markets.
In retail, the third quarter NOI was just under $13 million, or a 4% increase compared to the prior year. The improvement was related to increased rental revenue in Houston and Ward Village as lease percentages increased 6% and 2% year-over-year, respectively.
Thoughtful improvements in the tenant base in Downtown Summerlin has also contributed to year-over-year growth as increases in retail sales and rental revenue drive the continued success of Summerlin's premier shopping destination.
With that, I will now turn the call over to our President, Jay Cross for a review of our Strategic Development segment.