Another Report Points to Weakness in Portland Apartment Market.

Following up on an earlier post HERE with data that showed weakness in the Portland apartment market, Ryan Frank in the Oregonian's Front Porch Blog has a new post with data from another source that also shows weakness:

3. Report: PDX apartment vacancies will rise to 6.8%; effective rents down 3%: From real estate firm Marcus & Millichap's third quarter apartment report on Portland: Substantial job losses have battered apartment fundamentals in the Portland metro during the past year, with weakness expected to persist through the beginning of 2010. Significant payroll cuts in the manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities sectors, which account for roughly one-third of Portland's work force, have weighed heavily on lower-tier apartment demand as tenants double up to ease monthly expenses. .¤.¤. Steady additions to stock will be met with receding demand, as vacancy is forecast to end 2009 at 6.8 percent, a 160 basis point annual increase. Last year, vacancy rose 100 basis points. This year, asking rents are expected to drop 1.2 percent to $815 per month. Operators will respond to climbing vacancy by widening concessions, as effective rents are projected to retreat 3 percent to $741 per month.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.