U.S. Census: Portland Metro Vacancy Falls 1.7% in Q2

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the rental vacancy rate for the Portland-Vancouver- Hillsboro metro area was 4.9 percent for the second quarter of 2016. Census data indicates a decrease in Greater Portland's vacancy rate from 6.6% in Q1 to 4.9% in Q2, and up 1.4% from a year earlier, when the rate was at historic lows.

Seattle Vacancies Nation's 5th Lowest
Census estimated Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue's vacancy rate at 2.7% vacancy rate, making it the nation's fifth lowest. Metro areas with lower vacancies than Seattle were Fresno (0%), San Diego (1.4%), Providence-Warwick RI-MA (2.5%) and Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA-NJ (2.6%).

Average National Rental Vacancy Rate
The average national rental vacancy rate for Q2 2016 was 6.7 percent for multifamily dwellings of five or more units, roughly even with a year earlier. Vacancy rates remained lowest in the western U.S.

 













 
U.S. Median Rents
U.S. median asking price for rent has been advancing steadily for years but dropped back slightly to median rates charged in Q4 of 2015. 

Greater Portland Rents 

The national apartment research firm Reis reports that Portland metro rents have increased annually since 2006 at an average rate of 4.2%. The total increase in rents over the past decade has been approximately 33%.

U.S. Homeownership Rate Continues to Fall
U.S. Homeownership rates have fallen from a recent high of 65.1% at the end of 2013 to an estimated 62.9% in Q2 2016. Homeownership rates in the Western U.S. fell to 57.9 from 58.7 percent, its lowest level in 26 years.