U.S. Census: Portland / Vancouver Multifamily Vacancy Rate Q2 2012 is 5.8%

The U.S. Census Bureau reports Portland’s vacancy rate rose from 4.2% in Q1 2012 to 5.8%, landing it in the middle of the pack of the nation’s vacancy rates among the top 75 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA had a Q2 2012 vacancy estimate of 3.2 percent, down from 7.5 percent a year earlier.

The nation’s 10 lowest vacancy rates were as follows:

• Bakersfield, CA – 0.7%
• Worcester, MA – 0.8%
• Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA – 1.1%
• Rochester, NY – 1.4%
• Fresno, CA – 2.4%
• Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ – 2.5%
• Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI – 2.9%
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA – 3.2%
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA – 3.2%
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA – 3.5%
• Denver-Aurora, CO – 4.1%

The MSA’s with the five highest vacancy rates were as follows:

• Richmond, VA28 – 14.9%
• Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL – 15.5%
• Tucson, AZ – 16.2%
• Memphis, TN-AR-MS – 16.5%
• New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA – 21.3%
• Orlando, FL – 21.3%