By Property Management Systems

PORTLAND, Ore. – There’s no denying that the Portland Oregon Real Estate market has been one of the toughest markets for home buyers over the last 5 years but the BIG questions is this: is it more affordable (cheaper) to rent in Portland than buy a home in 2018?

Thanks to Real Estate industry giant Trulia, we know that the answer to this question is yes. Thanks to Trulia we know that in Portland Oregon it’s only about 14% cheaper to buy a home here versus rent.

This statistic won’t shock many people because with home prices still continuing to climb in the PDX area it’s been difficult for the average home buyer to afford to save money for a down payment on a decent 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home so many people have opted to continue renting instead of buying.

More People Are Choosing to Rent Vs. Buy A Home

The advantage of buying over renting is at a six-year low across the nation, thanks to the combination of soaring home prices and declining rents in some cities, according to a new analysis from Trulia. Those trends have narrowed the savings from buying a home in each of the biggest U.S. cities, the real-estate service found. 

Trulia found there are now two cities where residents are better off renting: San Jose, California, and San Francisco. The typical home value in those cities have surged to more than $1 million, while rents are stabilizing or declining. The topsy-turvy situation comes as a family earning $117,000 now qualifies as “low-income” in the Bay Area because of the sky-high housing prices. 

“One point deserves emphasizing: The ultra-costly San Francisco Bay Area is not a harbinger for the nation as a whole,” noted Trulia senior economist Cheryl Young in an analysis of the data. 

Nationally, it’s still 26 percent cheaper to buy than to rent — but that’s down from about 36 percent a year earlier, Trulia said. Rents have declined 1.1 percent while home prices have surged 8.1 percent, which led to the pared savings from buying. 

There are also a handful of cities where the savings from buying are much slimmer than the national rate, Trulia found. For instance, it’s only 2 percent cheaper to buy in Honolulu, another city known for its high cost of living. Seattle’s housing market is only 10 percent cheaper than renting, while it’s only 14 percent cheaper to buy than rent in Portland, Oregon. 

Even in markets where it’s cheaper to buy, home hunters are likely to face low inventory and rising home prices. Toss in rising mortgage rates, and it’s no surprise that some Americans are opting to sit on the sidelines.

In some case, it’s not by choice. More families are being squeezed into rental properties because they can’t find an entry-level home or afford the down payment for a property. The U.S. had more than 14 million renter households with children in 2016, up nearly 2 million from 2006, just before the Great Recession, according to a recent study from Rent Cafe. 

House hunters “may take a little longer to decide whether this is the right time to take out a mortgage or sign a lease,” Trulia’s Young added. 

Search for Rental Properties in Portland Oregon

To search for a rental property in Portland Oregon, or to speak with us about our property management services, contact Property Management Systems today by calling us at (503) 515-3170 or click here to connect with us online.