Portland Oregon Housing Crisis
Property Management Systems – Portland’s leading resource for rental news.
As we approach the end of the year one of the most common things that people like to do is look back on the top trends, especially search terms, and one of the most common search terms this year has been the search term: Portland Oregon Housing Crisis.
Although it’s a common search term, one thing that many people are not doing is talking about how Portland got to the point where we have a housing crisis in the first place.
In this post we will break down the components that caused the housing Portland Oregon Housing Crisis and discuss where the city is going to go from here.
Anatomy of the Portland Oregon Housing Crisis
When the real estate market crashed towards the end of 2006 one of the most common results of the collapsing real estate market was that home prices took a big nose dive and prices remained stagnant for a time until they began to rise again.
As home prices increased, and more people bought homes in Portland, this also created a greater demand for homes and more were built.
Sadly, even though we’ve seen an increase in home construction in Portland Oregon over the last two years, many of the new homes in Portland have not been purchased by Portland residents because, wages have not kept up with inflation.
How Did We Get Here
Yes we know how the housing crisis in Portland Oregon began but, many people are still asking how did we get here?
The origin of the Portland Oregon Housing Crisis can also be traced back to a national trend of more people moving back to the city from rural or suburban areas and more households living within the Portland city limits.
Back in year 2000 Portland Oregon had just 29,000 households but as of 2015 the total number of households in Portland Oregon has risen too far beyond that.
Sadly, with more households in Portland Oregon than ever before that also means fewer affordable rental properties and it’s getting increasingly difficult for renters to find apartments or other affordable rental units in Portland for less than $1,000 per month.
Thanks to the recent statistics from the Portland housing Bureau we know that Portland Oregon needs close to 25,000 more affordable housing units but, more builders and developers are less inclined to construct affordable housing units without public subsidies so little is being done as of right now to combat the housing problem in Portland Oregon.
The Portland Oregon Housing Crisis also impacted Portland’s young artist’s writers and musicians who mostly earn under $30,000 per year and are unable to live within the Portland area. Many creative people have been forced to look for homes outside of Portland or have even been faced with the decision to leave the city altogether for other more affordable states.
Not Happening Just In Portland Oregon
What’s not commonly talked about in the media is that the housing crisis is not just unique to Portland Oregon alone, many other housing markets across the United States are experiencing the same issues, lack of affordable housing and stagnant wages.
A recent study by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that in 2015 the medium rent for a newly constructed rental homes across United States is about $1300 per month and equals 50% of the income of an average renter.
What’s also contributing to the problem is increasing speculation from investment firms in New York and across the United States who are investing in rental properties in Portland Oregon like: apartments, evicting the current tenants and fixing and flipping those homes or apartments for higher profits.
Many people agree that Wall Street is not helping with the housing crisis since they are using their strategy of investing in apartment buildings and other rental properties to back their bonds as this strategy nonetheless has created a housing crisis which has been increasingly bad for renters across United States but few are also eager to stop economic “progress” since the economy is still growing now.
How Are Cities Responding?
In Portland, city councilors have pushed through measures that increase affordable housing funding by millions in the city’s urban renewal areas. City leaders are also looking at taxes that could expand funds for affordable housing in other parts of the city experiencing rapid growth, like inner and outer Southeast.
Hales also stated his desire for the city to build a new homeless shelter before the first of the year, and end veteran homelessness in the city on the same tight timeline.
Elsewhere in the state, Eugene city councilors considered a resolution in October that would have asked Gov. Kate Brown to declare a statewide homeless emergency. A month later, the city approved an ordinance that allowed homeless people to camp from dusk to dawn in designated areas.
And in Bend, city councilors have increased fee exemptions for some affordable housing developments in recent months.
Source – opb.org
Portland Oregon Average Rent
Thanks to recent data from Zillow we know the average rent in Portland Oregon is roughly $1,700 per month.
Rents in Portland have risen about $100 per month this year, beating both Denver and San Francisco which have seen their rents rise faster.
What to Expect In 2016
With 2016 only weeks away, many people including Portland Oregon renters are wondering what’s next for the Portland housing market next year.
Will the current housing crisis continue and rental properties be more unaffordable than ever before and harder to come by?
Yes Portland is taking some measures right now to slow the housing crisis but with a recent lawsuit from a local company to stop the city’s 90 day notice for no cause requires landlords to provide their tenants with at least 90 day notice and tell their rent is going up it’s increasingly more likely by the day that big business will when in the end over the consumer unless State lawmakers tackle the issue of before the housing crisis in upcoming 2016 legislative session.
With the state of Oregon surpassing 4 million people in the month in November alone, and more people relocating to Oregon every day the 2016 legislative session couldn’t come fast enough as real solutions need to start being put into place now to stop the housing crisis or it’s looking increasing likely that we can expect more of the same in 2016.
Rent In Portland Oregon
To learn more about the Portland Oregon Housing Crisis, find an affordable Portland Oregon home for rent, or for Portland Oregon Property Management, contact property management systems today by calling us at (503) 515-3170 or click here to connect with us online.
