Despite increasing unemployment, the average monthly multifamily rent in the Portland-Vancouver region rose 3% in 2001 to $702, according to a new report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. In 2002, the report predicts, the average rent in the region will increase by approximately 2% due mostly to new high-end product and the tightest submarkets like Downtown. Many existing owners are expected to forgo rent increases in order to keep vacancy at their property within an acceptable range.

"Unlike the last high-tech slowdown in the late 1990s, which impacted Portland so severely, the local apartment market has very little excess supply on hand," says Jack Estes, regional manager in M&M's Portland office. "A limited number of projects are expected to reach completion over the next 12 months, further cushioning the impact of the recession. Also unlike the previous confined downturn in the semiconductor industry, the entire nation has entered into a recession, which makes it unlikely that the newly unemployed will leave the region to find job opportunities elsewhere. These factors will keep the Portland apartment market stable."