Apartment Market 'Relatively Healthy'

PORTLAND-Thanks to an economic slowdown that has kept new product few and far between and the region’s well-known restrictions on sprawl, the Portland-area apartment market will start growing again shortly after the economy catches its breath. That’s according to a mid-year market report by Marcus & Millichap and Jack Estes, regional manager of the firm’s Portland office.

“The Portland-Vancouver apartment market has experienced some softening due to the recent economic slowdown, but the long-term potential for the market is strong,” notes Estes. “Not only has the Urban Growth Boundary limited construction activity in the region, but the downturn has caused further thinning of the construction pipeline.”

By the end of 2002, the Portland-Vancouver region’s employment base is forecast to have contracted by 1% on an annual average basis; according to the report. However, from mid-2002 through mid-2003, the report predicts employment growth will become positive, at approximately 1%–assuming a recovery in the high-tech manufacturing sector spurs economic growth throughout the region.