U.S. Census Bureau: Greater Portland Rental Vacancy Ties for Nation’s Third Lowest at 2.4%
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that fourth quarter 2018 rental vacancy rate for the Portland/ Vancouver/ Hillsboro metro area was 2.4%, a decrease of 0.2% from a year earlier.
Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue’s metro area vacancy rate was listed at 5.0%, up from 3.4% one year earlier.
The nation’s lowest rental vacancy rates:
- Akron, OH 1.3%
- Fresno, CA 1.6% [tie – 2nd]
- Worcester, MA 1.6% [tie – 2nd]
- New Haven-Milford, CT 2.4% [tie – 3rd]
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA – 2.4% [tie – 3rd]
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH – 2.9% [tie – 4th]
- Tucson, AZ – 2.9% [tie – 4th]
- Rochester, NY – 3.6%
Average National Rental Vacancy Rate
The average national rental vacancy rate for Q4 2018 was 6.6 percent for multifamily dwellings of five or more units — 0.3% lower than one year earlier, despite ongoing delivery of multifamily units throughout the national market.
Year-over-year vacancy rates in the Western U.S. decreased, from 5.8% to 5.1%.
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U.S. Homeownership Rate Increases
After falling to a 26-year low in 2016, homeownership rate increased to 54.8%. The current homeownership rate in the West increased from 60.0% to 60.9%.
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