It’s spring 2018 and if you’re wondering what’s happening with the Portland Oregon Rental Market because you’re either a renter or owner, you’ve come to the right place!
In this report we will provide you with details for what’s happening with the local rental market and how the current rental market conditions affect you.
Portland Rental Market Report – Spring 2018
Right now the average rent in Portland Oregon is $1,576 per month, this is actually a decrease from $1,603 during the same time period last year.
- One bedroom apartment – Will cost renters about $1,468 per month to rent.
- Two bedroom apartment – Averaging about $1,791 per month.
Within the last six months the average rent for most renters has actually decreased by $50 per month. This is good news for renters, especially those who have been unable to find affordable housing or have been subject to rent increases in recent years.
Some Owners May Have To Pay Their Tenants Relocation Fees
Since it became law, some owners across the Portland Oregon Rental Market have been required to pay their tenants rents if those tenants are forced out of their homes due to rent increases of more than 10%.
The law awards tenants payments if they are evicted without cause or forced to move because of a rent increase more than 10 percent.
The payments range from $2,900 for a studio to a maximum of $4,500 for a three-bedroom apartment.
In a public hearing Wednesday, the council began deliberating an ordinance that would make the policy permanent, establish a rental registration system and narrow exemptions.
Without council action, the program would sunset in April.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has said the policy will help residents being pushed out of their neighborhoods by rising rents.
“We are in a housing emergency and people are suffering,” he said.
Tax Breaks Could Bring More Affordable Apartments To Portland
There’s no doubt hat lack of affordable housing has been a MAJOR problem in Portland over the last five years as many older apartments have been bought for cheap by owners, turned into luxury apartments and flipped for a nice profit.
Thankfully, the City Council is doing more to encourage developers to not just build luxury apartments but affordable apartments as well.
The Portland City Council voted 4-0 Wednesday to revive a tax break designed to encourage developers to make 20 percent of apartments they build affordable to low-income renters.
The Multnomah County Commission must also approve the tax break for it to take effect. It is not a forgone conclusion that the panel will do so.
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz pointedly left the room just before Wednesday’s vote because she did not approve but did not want a “no” vote to delay the change.
The city, school districts and other property-tax funded jurisdictions could forego up to $30 million in tax revenue over the next decade if enough developers with apartments in the making sign on. But it’s not clear how many would take advantage of the program. City housing officials have estimated the new incentive could result in 100 to 300 discounted units.
Granny Flats Are Popping Up Across Portland
Another consequence of the lack of affordable housing in Portland is the wide variety of “granny flats” that have been popping up across Portland.
These tiny homes are not just for granny any more. They can easily house up to four people at a time thanks to create loft sleeping spaces and inventive solutions for storage.
Many homeowners in the PDX area are having granny flats built in their back yards so that they can get in on a ground floor opportunity to become a landlord without having to leave home.
With about 70 percent of its metro area zoned for single-family housing, and some of the fastest-rising rents in the country, Portland has a paralyzing shortage of affordable housing that officials believe more accessory dwelling units (ADUs) could help address. City homeowners are embracing the idea: ADUs are popping up faster here than anywhere else in the U.S., with the city issuing building permits for about one unit per day in 2016.
But financing a full-fledged secondary housing unit is out of reach for many homeowners. A custom-built ADU (which is also sometimes called a granny flat or in-law unit) can easily set a Portlander back $150,000.
“That’s just not attainable for most people,” said Patrick Quinton, peeling back a thorny vine in an overgrown alleyway.
Quinton is the former executive director of the Portland Development Commission and the co-founder and CEO of Dweller, a startup aimed at helping more homeowners ride the wave of ADUs affordably. Dweller fronts the cost of purchasing and installing one-size-fits-all prefabricated ADUs in backyards. Third-party property managers rent out the unit to long-term tenants, and Dweller splits the revenues 30-70 with the homeowner, almost as if the company is leasing the land.
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