Thousands of new metro-area apartments are in the works, but that hasn't yet put a stop to rising rents or eased competition between renters.

The Portland area's apartment vacancy rate is resting at 3.63 percent, according to a

survey released Wednesday. That's down slightly from the 3.7 percent rate reported in April but still higher than the 3.34 percent seen a year ago.

Tenants are cutting bigger monthly rent checks, too. Compared with a year ago, rents have risen 6.2 percent to about $1.03 per square foot.

The average one-bedroom apartment rents for $774 a month, up from $706 last October.

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The apartment building boom rests on growing post-recession demand. Former homeowners who lost their home in foreclosure are now renting, and people who had moved in together to save money are now moving out on their own, filling more apartments.

Studio apartments, in particular, are growing in popularity. As a result, the average rent for studios has grown 30 percent in two years, far faster than other apartment types.

"More and more young people are living alone in their apartment," Liz Tilbury, owner of

, told a gathering of MMHA members in Portland.

Developers saw the growing demand coming, and early birds who started construction months ago are now bringing their projects to the market.

Commercial lenders, too, have been more willing to finance apartment buildings than other construction projects, and investors have been eager to buy them upon completion.

Nearly 3,000 apartments are leasing or will start seeking tenants by the end of the year, according to

, and another 6,000 are planned in 2013 and 2014.

The arrival of new competition has made landlords a little nervous, and

, said he wouldn't be surprised to see vacancy closer to 5 percent in coming months.

Still, times are pretty good for owners of apartment buildings in general.

"Here we are, in a market with low vacancy, rising rental rates and low interest rates, and apartments being the darling of investment and lending," Barry said.

Portland still remains one of the more affordable cities for renting, particularly on the West Coast.

, a commercial real estate information firm, reported Portland's vacancy rate at 2.2 percent -- the second-lowest in the nation -- in its most recent quarterly report, released in July.

Among the 82 major metros in the Reis report, Portland's vacancy rate was second only to New York. But the average Portland rent -- pegged by Reis at $831 a month -- remains below the all-metro average and well below other West Coast cities like Seattle and San Francisco.

Still, renting is getting more expensive in the Portland area, both from rising rental rates and more costs being passed on to tenants. More landlords now require residents to pay water and sewer costs in addition to their rent.

And it's only become harder to find an apartment. The average number of days an apartment stays vacant between tenants has fallen from 43 to 37 days since April. In one of the area's hottest apartment markets, inner Southeast Portland, apartments are vacant for just 11 days on average.

There are areas where rents have declined -- namely Milwaukie, Troutdale and North Portland -- but by less than four percent. And Hillsboro/North of 26, outer Southeast Portland and Oregon City all have vacancy rates of 5 percent or above.

And while some relief may be on the way with new construction, that might still be months or years away.

"They're not all going to be delivered tomorrow," said Sam Rodriguez, managing director for developer

.

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