Portland Metro Employment and Per Capita Income On the Upswing

Portland Unemployment Below National Avg.

 The Portland region saw robust employment growth of 2.7% over the last 12 months. The dramatic recovery of the construction industry is a standout trend. However, almost all major industries are growing at a decent pace. High and low wage service industries such as Professional Services and Retail are showing strong growth.

Personal Income on the Upswing

Meanwhile, Bureau of Economic Analysis data released last week show the Portland metro region starting to catch up in per capital personal income with an impressive 4.3% growth in 2012, outperforming the majority of US metro regions.

Apartment Vacancy Rates Fall As Homeownership Drops to Lowest Level in 20 years

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the Portland/Vancouver /Beaverton vacancy rate fell from 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 4.0 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

The Portland metro area tied with Springfield, MA for the 8th lowest vacancy rates among the top 75 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ranked #5 with at 3.5 percent, down 0.5 percent from the prior quarter.





The 16 MSA's with the lowest vacancy rates:

• Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ - 2.1%
• Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA – 2.2%
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA – 2.4%
• Akron, OH 3-1%
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA – 3.5%
• Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY – 3.7%
• Fresno, CA – 3.8%
• Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA – 4.0% (tie)
• Springfield, MA – 4.0%  (tie)
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT – 4.1%
• Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA – 4.4%
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA – 4.5%
• Denver-Aurora, CO – 4.8% (tie)
• Grand Rapids, Wyoming, MI – 4.8% (tie)
• Honolulu, HI – 4.8% (tie)
• Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NJ – 4.8% (tie)
  

The MSA's with the five highest vacancy rates:

• Richmond, VA - 16.8%
• Orlando, FL - 16.6%
• Salt Lake City, UT - 15.2
• Tulsa, OK - 14.2%
• El Paso, TX - 13.6%

The average national rental vacancy rate for Q1 2014 was 8.3% and was 0.3% lower than a year earlier. The rental vacancy rate has been fallen consistently since 2009. It is hovering around its lowest level since Q1 2001. Its high water mark was 11.1% in 2009.


Homeownership rates fell to 64.8%, the lowest level in 20 years.


U.S. Census Media Release.

National Multifamily Housing Council: Overbuilding Fears Lessen

The National Multifamily Housing Council reported today that supply of new apartments nationwide has ramped up to meet approximate ongoing demand, with few signs of overbuilding.

Read the report here.

PSU Pulls Off Another Amazing Real Estate Conference

Portland State University pulled out some amazing speakers for its 9th annual Real Estate Conference yesterday. Among the many items highlighted was the reaffirmation that Portland continues to rank as the top relocation destination among millennial’s. The youngest generation are flocking here for our apparently-not-so-secret livability factor.

PDFs of the presenter’s slide shows are available for download at the link below.

http://www.pdx.edu/realestate/center-events

Portland Apartments Primed to Continue Strong Rent Growth [Video]

Low volume of new development and healthy demand drivers leaving Portland primed for strong rent growth.

There are very few apartment markets across the country where there are strong apartment fundamentals and relatively low new construction levels. Portland is one of those places. Portland is well positioned to be one of the top performing apartment markets over the next couple of years. Read the full text.

Which Neighborhoods in E & SE Portland are Most Expensive?

The Oregonian is in currently publishing a six-part infographic series with fascinating information on area rent growth. The first two in the series are available at the following links:

See their latest, on East Portland, by clicking here. 

See the SE Portland rent growth charts by clicking here. 

#Apartments #SE Portland #Portland #Renttrends #Oregon

NW Examiner: Apartment Buildings Flood Slabtown Area

The April, 2014 edition of The NW Examiner features a cover story about the recent influx of apartments in the NW Portland area - without parking. Read more. 

Good News Still Flowing in Spring 2014 MultifamilyNW Report

Updated: 10:42 am 4/16/14

Multifamily NW released its latest Apartment Market report for Portland metro this morning.

Despite a recent increase in vacancies, the latest MultifamilyNW Apartment Report indicates apartment are seeing an increase in net operating incomes. The Portland metro area experienced over 5 percent growth in rents while operating expenses increased just over 2 percent.

The Spring 2014 Multifamily NW Report indicated an increase in vacancy from 3.11 to 3.46%.  The spring 2013 report listed overall vacancy at 3.55%. 

Average market rents have increased from the spring 2013 MultifamilyNW Apartment Report to the spring 2014 report by over 11%. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Other Highlights:

• Only 7% of all properties are offering rental incentives
• Average number of days vacant is 35
• Median per unit expenses have increased for all property types by 2.2% over the past year from $4,251 to $4,346 per unit
• Property taxes average $870 per unit ($1.07 sq. ft.)
• Insurance costs average $165 per unit ($0.22 sq. ft.)
• Water and sewer averages $550 per unit ($0.76 sq. ft.)

Today's keynote speaker was Robert Ball of Astor Pacific.

Download the full report. 

Portland's Growing: What Our Skyline and Future Might Look Like

Kudos to Portland Monthly Magazine for a Great Series on Portland's future. . . 

"It's taller, shinier, pointier (or boxier), denser, busier, greener, and more ambitious (or, sometimes, just greedier). Get ready."

Click here to read more.

What Portland's New Skyline Might Look Like

Read more about the Central City 2035 Plan

Watch a recent video on the SE Quadrant Plan

MPF Research Pegs Portland's Annual Q1 2014 Rent Growth #4 Nationally at 7.9%

Newly released data shows the U.S. apartment sector continues to post strong fundamentals even as new supply levels ramp up – with occupancy registering around 95% and annual rent growth around 3% for the seventh consecutive quarter. If there are any surprises, it’s that rent growth levels haven’t slipped – and in fact, they’ve jumped in some key spots with significant levels of apartment development.

Click here for the full story. Click here to watch the video report.

Annual Rent Growth Leaders for Year Ending Q1 2014
Rank	Metro	Annual Rent Growth
1	Oakland	9.1%
2	San Jose	8.7%
3	San Francisco	8.1%
4	Portland	7.9%
5	Denver-Boulder	7.6%
6	Seattle-Tacoma	6.2%
7	Miami	5.7%
8 (Tie)	Houston	4.7%
8 (Tie)	San Diego	4.7%
10	Austin	4.5%
12 (Tie)	Atlanta	4.3%
12 (Tie)	Nashville	4.3%

State Posts 200 Occupations Forecast to Have Most Openings in Portland Metro, With Average Wages

The State of Oregon has released a list of the 200 Fastest Growing Jobs in Portland forecast to have the most job openings over the next 10 years. The list also includes the average wage for those positions. Click here to download the 1-page PDF of this list. 

US Trends: New Home Building is Shifting to Apartments

Census data shows that the share of new homes being built as rental apartments is at the highest level in at least four decades. Read more.