Portland Retail Rents Climb 6.2% as Vacancy Edges Up to 4.4%

Construction pipeline shrinks 40.8% while deliveries surge 282% year-over-year in third quarter

Portland’s retail market is adjusting to new economic realities as landlords push rents higher while property values decline and developers pull back on new projects. The third quarter brought a mix of signals that suggest the market is recalibrating after years of disruption, with asking rents reaching $1.98 per square foot—up 6.22 percent from a year earlier—even as vacancy inched up 40 basis points to 4.4 percent. The rent increases come amid a sharp correction in retail property values. Average sales prices fell to $166 per square foot in the third quarter, down 22.6 percent year-over-year, according to Kidder Mathews’ Q3 market report.

“Net absorption year-to-date was -11,366 square feet,