Despite Ongoing Construction, Seattle and Portland's Rental Vacancy Rates Remain Among Nation's Lowest

Greater Seattle has the nation's 6th lowest rental vacancy rate while Portland ranks 11th.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that second-quarter 2019 rental vacancy rate for the Portland/ Vancouver/ Hillsboro metro area was 4.1%, a drop of 0.7% from one year earlier.

Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue's metro area vacancy rate was listed at 3.3%, down 0.8% from a year ago.

The nation's lowest rental vacancy rates, by metro area:

1. Cleveland, OH - 1.5%
2. San Jose, CA - 2.0%
3. Columbus, OH - 2.2%
4. Boston - 2.9%
5. Allentown-3.2%
6. Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue - 3.3%
7. Akron - 3.6%
8. Riverside, CA 3.7%
9. North Port, FL - 3.9%
10. Rochester, NY 4.0%
11. Portland/Vancouver/Hillsboro - 4.1%
12. Denver - 4.4%
13. Salt Lake - 4.4%
14. L.A. 4.5%

Average National Rental Vacancy Rate

The average national rental vacancy rate for Q2 2019 was 6.8 percent for multifamily dwellings of five or more units -- no change from one year earlier, despite continuous delivery of multifamily units throughout the national market.

Year-over-year vacancy rates in the Western U.S. decreased, from 5.1% to 4.8%.

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U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls
After falling to a 26-year low in 2016, the homeownership rate has rebounded but fell slightly over the past year to 64.1%. Homeownership in the West has also decreased from 59.7% in Q2 2018 to 59.3% in June 2019.

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