U.S. Census Bureau: Greater Portland Rental Vacancy Ties for Nation's Third Lowest at 2.4%

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that fourth quarter 2018 rental vacancy rate for the Portland/ Vancouver/ Hillsboro metro area was 2.4%, a decrease of 0.2% from a year earlier.

Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue's metro area vacancy rate was listed at 5.0%, up from 3.4% one year earlier.

The nation's lowest rental vacancy rates:

1. Akron, OH 1.3%
2. Fresno, CA 1.6% [tie - 2nd]
3. Worcester, MA 1.6% [tie - 2nd]
4. New Haven-Milford, CT 2.4% [tie - 3rd]
5. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA - 2.4% [tie - 3rd]
6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH - 2.9% [tie - 4th]
7. Tucson, AZ - 2.9% [tie - 4th]
8. Rochester, NY - 3.6%

Average National Rental Vacancy Rate
The average national rental vacancy rate for Q4 2018 was 6.6 percent for multifamily dwellings of five or more units -- 0.3% lower than one year earlier, despite ongoing delivery of multifamily units throughout the national market.

Year-over-year vacancy rates in the Western U.S. decreased, from 5.8% to 5.1%.

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U.S. Homeownership Rate Increases
After falling to a 26-year low in 2016, homeownership rate increased to 54.8%. The current homeownership rate in the West increased from 60.0% to 60.9%.

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