The Portland Metro Area (PMA) apartment market was experiencing low vacancy trends (5% and below in most areas) and increasing rental rates from 2005 through late 2008. Since that time; however, the rental market has seen steady decline in rental rates and increases in concessions and vacancy due to the national recession that has seen [...]

The tension was high at the special meeting called by the Colorado Banker’s Association in early December. The bankers were gathering to listen to Dr. Tom Hoenig, President of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, discuss the current recession and to get his predictions on how long it will last. With the reputation of [...]

Sales Volumes
Existing home sales were down consistently across all 4 counties in 2008 by 32 to 34%
New Detached sales followed a similar trend, with Clark, Washington & Multnomah down 29-33%, and Washington down 18%
Attached housing market faired the worse, down from 40 to 54% across all four counties.
Overall, the volume of home sales was down [...]