![Portland Permits Are Down 75 Percent. The Completions Crash Is Next [05/18/26]](https://www.hfore.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/HFO_Multifamily_Marketwatch_Portland_CO_Issued.png)
Portland Permits Are Down 75 Percent. The Completions Crash Is Next [05/18/26]
Portland’s apartment supply story over the past 16 years can be summarized in two numbers: 1,306 permits filed for projects with five or more units, and 45,653 units built and issued certificates of occupancy.
The chart above shows the permit story by year, with each bar segmented by current status. The deep blue bands represent issued permits. The teal bands are projects still under review. The remaining colors capture applications, cancellations, abandonments, and expired permits.
The Peak Years
A few things stand out. The 2017, 2021, and 2022 peaks all clustered around 6,400 units permitted per year. Those three years carried the post-recession development cycle.
Look at 2022 closely. Roughly 1,650 of those units are still sitting under review four years later. Many of them will never get started.
Then look at the right side of the chart. 2024 came in at 1,515 units. 2025 at 1,461. The 2026 year-to-date count through May 12 is 1,299, and almost two-thirds of that figure is still in review. New apartment permitting in Portland has dropped roughly 75 percent from its peak.
The second chart shows what those permits eventually produced. Certificates of occupancy peaked at 5,446 units in 2020, then held in the 4,000s through 2024. Construction takes time. The 4,476 units delivered in 2024 were built under permits issued in 2020 through 2022.
The Future Pipeline is Empty
That’s where the math gets uncomfortable. Permits issued in 2023, 2024, and 2025 will determine what gets delivered in 2026, 2027, and 2028. The pipeline is empty.
For owners, this means the absorption pressure that has defined the past three years will reverse. If you’re a renter, it means today’s negotiating leverage has a shelf life. For developers and capital partners, the window to position for the next cycle is open right now.
Multifamily Marketwatch® for Oregon and SW Washington will continue tracking these flows. The 2026 vacancy and rent forecasts will be the first to bake in this dynamic.