Rentals getting tough to find | Portland Business Journal

Portland's real estate market may not be in full rebound mode yet, however, the rental market does appear so.

Supply and Demand.

With rent vs buy being so attractive, new first time buyers are gobbling up the available would be rental inventory. Without the mortgage crisis, everyone would be buying. However, there are plenty of first time buyers that are unable to qualify for a few more years. This keeps a healthy rental pool in the population. What we are seeing in the Portland area is very low vacancy rates because of this.

Vacancy Rates are below 4.5% in every submarket of the city

And in the city itself, the Vacancy Rate has dropped to 3.8%

Rents are now on the rise due to this supply and demand, and have increase 4% over the last 6 months.

In the past builders would keep up with the demand by building houses and apartments. However, we know that has slowed down to historic lows, keeping this newly created inventory from growing.

As Portland's unemployment has dropped by another percent last month, more jobs are being created, and this adds more demand for housing. And will only lead to higher rents.

Ultimately, as income rises, from more job creation, the rental population will see more benefit in the homeownership, and overflow into the real estate market. A similar "trickle up" effect. Perhaps real estate rebound is around the corner.

as adapted from Portland Biz Journal...

Rentals getting tough to find | Portland Business Journal