Regional Multifamily Market: Steady as She Goes

PORTLAND-With interest rates low and overbuilding in the late 1990′s finally being overcome, local specialists say the Greater Portland apartment market appears stable in the face of an otherwise troublesome commercial real estate market. Although there hasn’t been much investment activity, vacancies remain high, says Tim O’Brien, a principal with Hagerman Frick O’Brien LLC, a local firm specializing in multifamily brokerage.

“This year continues to be soft on the investment side, but that’s only because not a lot of people want to sell their most stable investment,” O’Brien tells GlobeSt.com. “Those that are selling are doing so because the lower interest rates are allowing private investors seeking a safe haven to pay a premium, and also because some owners simply prefer to convert to cash in these uncertain times.”

As far as what is selling, O’Brien says all classes are moving, but generally it’s more the class A product thanks to institutions and REITs reorganizing their portfolios, and also because in times like this people want an asset they don’t have to turn around.