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Amid dwindling available space and a steady in-migration to Portland’s core, the vacancy rate for apartments here has dropped below 4 percent. Now, developers are looking for ways to do more with less.

Enter micro-housing. Construction has boomed in larger cities 鈥� Seattle has more than 3,600 units either built or planned 鈥� for years, but in Portland it’s just now burgeoning.

鈥淭he significant job and population growth in Portland makes it a prime market for micro-housing,鈥� said Cathy Reines, owner of Seattle-based koz Development. 鈥淏ecause of the extraordinary transportation system 鈥� the buses and MAX line 鈥� and the bicycle culture, we think Portland is a great market for this product.鈥�

Micro-housing units vary in size from as small as 150 square feet up to just under 400 square feet. Some units are no more than a room and a bathroom with a communal kitchen shared by tenants. Some have kitchen areas of their own.

鈥淲e can all say, 鈥業 could never live in 150 or 200 square feet, but the reality is there are a lot of people who can, who do, and who love it,鈥� Reines said at an Oct. 15 breakfast presentation sponsored by Multifamily NW. 鈥淎nything more than 300 square feet is just wasted space.鈥�

Two micro-housing buildings exist in Portland now 鈥� The Arthur at 726 S.W. 11th Ave. and the Freedom Center at 1430 N.W. Pettygrove St. 鈥� but at least three others are in the pipeline.

Freedom Center property manager Matt Jacobs said its units were leased out beginning in November 2012. They range from 267 to 385 square feet and rent from $850 to $1,100 per month. Jacobs said the inclusion of both a kitchen and a bathroom in each unit is what differentiates Freedom Center from other micro-housing complexes. He said that the Freedom Center’s typical renter is about 30 years old and often either a student or someone new to the area.

Developers are taking advantage of the influx of young professionals, many whom work in the creative or tech industries and want to live downtown.

Footprint Investments is a Seattle-based property management company that has about 20 micro-housing buildings in the Seattle area. It’s constructing a micro-housing apartment building at 2250 N.W. Thurman St. in Portland and has another planned at 1525 N.E. Hollywood Ave.

Laura Little is a property manager for Footprint and also a tenant in one of its units, which all are under 300 square feet. Little, 26, said most tenants are in their mid-20s. She said she appreciated that a micro unit allowed her to live in an area that otherwise was out of her price range.

鈥淚t’s a new, safe building in a neighborhood where I couldn’t have afforded a studio apartment,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he units come furnished and we include all utilities and Internet in the price.鈥�

Reines’ research indicates that a typical micro-apartment tenant is around 30 years old, single and has an average annual income of about $40,000. She said more women than men rent micro-apartments. Tenants often are students, young professionals, people new to the area, out-of-town consultants or retirees.

鈥淚t’s primarily millennials, but we’re also seeing baby boomers,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he children are out of the house, (so) they’re downsizing and moving to an urban area to live that young, hip, restaurant life.鈥�

Rents for micro-apartments typically range from about $600 to $1,200 per month.

鈥淲hy Portland?鈥� Reines asked. 鈥淰acancies are down, demand is up, and these units provide a price point that makes sense to people who want to live in the highly-sought-out area of downtown Portland.鈥�

The square footage is small, but their amenities make up for that, Reines said. Micro-housing is typically marketed to millennials, she said.

鈥淚t’s not all millennials, but the vast majority are looking to live for the experience, not for material things,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are looking to live in the downtown corridor and want to live in high-quality housing.鈥�

Before co-founding koz Development, Reines was president and CEO of Footprint Investments. She said she considers herself an expert on the evolution of micro-housing in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle saw its first wave of micro-housing constructed in 2009, she said. Those were smaller than 180 square feet, with 鈥渓ower-end finishes,鈥� shared kitchens, some shared bathrooms and limited variation on room design. There were hardly ever any vacancies, she said.

Little said Footprint units are consistently full.

鈥淚’ve yet to see an apartment left empty at the beginning of the month,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think these spaces meet a lot of (cities’) needs, especially booming cities.鈥�

Little said a lot of Footprint’s tenants are newcomers to the area or planning to stay only temporarily. Many are recent college graduates.

鈥淚t’s a fascinating story of why this next generation, especially, doesn’t need or want space,鈥� Reines said. 鈥淭hey don’t have or want material things. They don’t need or want all the material things we used to pack around with us, because their music, their information is all in their smartphones.鈥�

Tenants, Reines said, also want a sense of community. So, now units often include decks, common rooftop or common areas and modern designs. Rents typically include all utilities, Internet access, on-site laundry, furnished rooms and a secured entry.