Five months into the pandemic, fissures are beginning to form in the foundation of the multifamily market. Through the spring leasing season, liquidity from enhanced unemployment insurance benefits and a yearning for stability in uncertain times were enough to maintain occupancy near pre-coronavirus levels and to provide something of a buttress for rents. As spring turned to summer, however, winds seemed to change direction, tenant patience began to fray and property performance waned. West Coast cities with high technology exposure were the first to exhibit material revenue attrition. Reduced employment and income prospects led many renters to reconsider the efficacy of paying the highest rents in the country. Many tenants chose instead to relocate to more affordable areas when leases expired (as many do during the spring leasing season) or simply vacated and broke existing leases. Rents in the San Francisco Bay Area have declined by about 4 percent since the beginning of the year, and as much as 9 percent over the last 12 months. More affordable markets, including Portland, also experienced softening, but to a lesser degree. While fleeing tenants apparently generated a “renter’s market” in San Francisco, absorption in a sample of 919 Portland properties surveyed by …
