February 2025
As Portland recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail sector continues to struggle. Vacancy rates for retail properties in Portland were 32% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the real estate analytics company CoStar. This was a substantial increase from 12.4% in Q4 of 2019.
Portland’s vacancy rate is above average among peer cities, with four having noticeably vacancy lower rates: Austin, Minneapolis, and Raleigh at about 26% and Boston at 21%. Only Oakland has a markedly higher vacancy rate of 37%.
Retail Q4 2024 Vacancy Rates by City
While Portland’s vacancy rate is relatively high, the average retail rent of $32.27 per square foot is about average among peer cities. Boston, San Diego, and Oakland all have rents that are $37 per square foot or greater. Among lower cost cities, Austin, Charlotte, Minneapolis, and Raleigh all have rents of $28 to $30 per square foot.
Retail Rent Q4 2024
Retail rents in Portland in the fourth quarter of 2024 of $32.27 per square foot, are a decrease of 13% from $37.13 in the fourth quarter of 2019, adjusted for inflation.
Portland’s high vacancy rates for commercial office and retail space offer an opportunity for new and existing businesses to expand their presence. At the same time, high levels of inventory supply will likely keep rents low into the future, impacting how developers consider new projects in the region.
Recovery Efforts
Revitalizing Portland’s communities requires street level storefronts that are welcoming public spaces. Making sure that restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, and shops are inviting and safe for everyone has been a critical part of Portland’s recovery efforts.
Prosper Portland’s Local Small Business Repair/Restore Grant Programs provided $6.9 million in funding to 1,044 local small businesses located in the City of Portland that sustained physical and economic damage due to break-ins, vandalism, and the winter storm of 2024. Over the last five years, these grants assisted eligible businesses in remaining open and operational and contributed to maintaining a healthy street environment.
When surveyed, 65% of grant recipients indicated that funding from the Repair/Restore Grant Program influenced their decision to keep their business open in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In late 2022, Vanessa, the owner of Vietnamese restaurant Bun Bo Hue, applied for a grant after her business was impacted by a hate crime. Several windows, doors, and a wall suffered significant damages. With the assistance of the grant program, Vanessa was able to pay for repairs and the installation of a security gate.
Vanessa said, “To just feel like the city cares, and sent someone to help – I still (have) hope, and that’s important for any small business.”
Although funding for the Repair/Restore grant programs concluded in 2024, Prosper Portland will continue to incorporate best practices from these programs into future grants, and the agency retains the capacity to deploy this kind of targeted assistance in future.
“To just feel like the city cares, and sent someone to help – I still (have) hope, and that’s important for any small business.”
We are committed to providing tangible, digestible, and relevant measures of current economic conditions in the context of our work. The Prosper Portland team will regularly highlight a specific indicator – like employment trends, household net worth, or occupational equity gaps – and how these data underpin the development of Prosper Portland’s programs and services.