U.S. Census: Portland, Seattle Among Cities With Lowest Rental Vacancies

Both Seattle and Portland continue to rank among the cities with the lowest rental vacancies. 

Of the top 75 metro areas, Portland ranked #13 with a vacancy rate of 3.7% for Q3 2020, down 1% from one year ago. 

Seattle ranked #15 among the top 75 metro areas, with a 4.2% vacancy rate, down less than one-half percent from Q3 2019.

U.S. Rental Vacancies Tighten

The average national rental vacancy rate for Q3 2020 was 6.4 percent for multifamily dwellings of five or more units — down from 6.8% a year earlier, despite continuous delivery of multifamily units throughout the national market.

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Year-over-year vacancy rates in the Western U.S. increased from 4.8% in Q3 2019 to 5.1% in 2020.

U.S. Homeownership Rate Falls

After falling to a 26-year low in 2016, the homeownership rate has rebounded and stands at 67.4%. Homeownership in the West has increased by 1.5% in the past year to 62.1%.

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