U.S. Census: Portland Ends 2017 With Nation's 5th Lowest Rental Vacancy Rate

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the year-end rental vacancy rate for the Portland-Vancouver- Hillsboro metro area was 2.6% percent -- a drop of 3.6% over the prior quarter and a 0.5% decrease from one year earlier. 

The next definitive report on the area's vacancy rate -- by Multifamily NW -- is due out in April.


Seattle's Vacancy Rate - 3.4%
Census estimated Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue's vacancy rate remained flat year-over-year at 3.4% -- despite a surge in multifamily construction projects that were quickly absorbed.

Metros with the lowest rental vacancies for Q4 2017 were:

1. Akron, OH (1.0%)
2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (1.4%)
3. Fresno, CA (1.9%)
4. Dayton, OH (2.0%)
5. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA (2.6%)
6. San Diego-Carlsbad, CA (2.7%)
7. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (3.4%)
8. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (3.7%)
9. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (3.8%)
10. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (4.0%)

Average National Rental Vacancy Rate
The average national rental vacancy rate for Q2 2017 was 6.9 percent for multifamily dwellings of five or more units -- unchanged from one year earlier, despite ongoing delivery of multifamily units throughout the national market.

Year-over-year vacancy rates in the western U.S. increased only slightly, from 4.2% to 4.5%.

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U.S. Homeownership Rate Increases
After falling to a 26-year low in 2016, homeownership rates remained at basically the same rate from one year earlier at 64.2%. Homeownership ratesas the fourth uarter of 2016 have been increasing. The current homeownership rate in the West increased over the past 12 months from 59% to 60%.

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