Downtown Portland office vacancy rate reaches 15%
Pandemic, protests among several factors dragging down Portland's office space market.
From the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to work at home to property destruction during protests downtown, office space in the Portland metro area is steadily becoming vacant.
The market faces a shaky outlook for the remainder of this year, even as people receive their vaccinations and employers consider bringing their staff back into the office.
State economist Josh Lehner pointed to the combination of business closures, less foot traffic and lower demand for office space as key factors in declining construction activity. Lehner said leading demand for office, retail, and leisure and hospitality space would need to rebound considerably for vacancy rates to decline and rents to increase.