![KOIN 6 News — Portland leaders want to dole out fees for vacant buildings downtown. Stakeholders aren’t having it [04/2026]](https://www.hfore.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Depositphotos_10425436_S.jpg)
KOIN 6 News — Portland leaders want to dole out fees for vacant buildings downtown. Stakeholders aren’t having it [04/2026]
HFO was in the news when the City of Portland commissioned a $62,000 study to explore a fee on landlords leaving downtown storefronts vacant. In fact, HFO in the News is a consistent piece of local real estate coverage.
Aaron Kirk Douglas, a market analyst with HFO Investment Real Estate, told KOIN: “If you own an apartment building, there’s no incentive to have a vacant unit.” The piece notes he “admits the 7.3% rental vacancy rate is higher than it should be” [the 7.3% was CoStar’s Portland metro figure, down 60 bps year-over-year.] Douglas also stated, “When you’re continually adding on regulations and fees and taxes to people who are actually providing housing in your community, it’s not a good look… It just scares people away.” This story further demonstrates the reach of HFO in the News within our industry.
Watch the video here. For ongoing updates, keep an eye out for HFO in the News segments covering similar issues.
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