Portland Commercial Real Estate Market Saw Improvement in Third Quarter

Some good news was present in Third Quarter reports detailing Portland's office, retail, industrial and multifamily markets. The reports are available here.

Office vacancy fell in the Central Business District, suburbs and Vancouver. TriMet’s more than 50,000 sf lease at downtown’s Harrison Square was the largest office lease of the quarter, and the $38.7 million sale of Parkside Center, also in downtown, was the largest sale.

The industrial market improved from a slow first half, with vacancy falling to 13.58%, and 161,422 sf of positive absorption. North/Northeast, the largest industrial submarket, saw significant improvement, including a number of leases over 50,000 sf.

Retail vacancy was fairly flat at 6.82%, with slight positive absorption. Leasing activity picked up in 122nd/Gresham, as ReStore and the Hannah Agency leased a total of nearly 35,000 sf there. Downtown has also seen smaller leases for a number of new restaurants from well-known Portland chefs and restaurateurs.

Portland’s apartment market remains very strong, with vacancy remaining at 2.60, its seventh consecutive quarter under 3%. We are tracking more than 6,000 units either proposed or under construction in the metro area, and though we have seen a few of these projects come online, 2013 and 2014 will see many more deliveries.