Last month our team attended the Fall Apartment Report Breakfast hosted by Multifamily NW. This yearly report and breakfast recaps the year thus far for rental providers, and provides forecasting for the months ahead.
The discussions surrounding the economic, developmental, operational and regulatory environments for housing providers were insightful, and we would like to share some of our takeaways:
– Urban areas in Oregon are still facing challenges with homelessness, lack of population growth, and crime.
– These challenges are reflected, among other things, in decreased vacancy rates in the suburbs (Beaverton and Milwaukie at ~2% percent) and higher vacancy rates in the urban core (Downtown and North Portland at ~5%)
– On a positive note, predicted vacancy rates of 7-12% from last year have not materialized as the market has restabilized
– Rent rates overall have increased 5% since Spring’s report, however they were just starting to fall again right before the Fall report was finalized. We see this occurring in our portfolio as the market is quickly softening during the winter months, but should rebound again in January
– Inflation continues to be the biggest concern as it impacts the development pipeline, rent affordability and investment decisions
While there are certainly multiple challenges facing Portland and Oregon right now that remain in center focus, such positive takeaways as increasing rents and relatively stable vacancy rates provide hope for the near future.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the full report, please reach out to Alex Bogrand at the link below, we would be glad to discuss how you can access it.
alex@nwvgroup.comCheck out other posts
