Working as an SEO and living in this area has changed over the years. Almost every day, you will hear stories from Portland, Oregon’s screens and newspapers. You will come across topics like rent hikes, evictions and ambitious (but struggling) home buyers. Meanwhile, you will come across government responses, hearings and rallies too! Housing is an interesting topic in Portland, Oregon. After all, it is burning more-and-more people daily.
So, why is Portland, Oregon struggling? Why are housing costs so high in this part of USA? Do people have any hope? Are there ways of reducing the housing charges?
Words From Great People!
When you are in Portland, you must choose between affordability and prosperity. Voila, you read it right. This is based on a very simple fact: Portland’s population increased rapidly during the Great Recession. Many housing projects were greatly stalled. From 2005 to 2015, the region remained under-built. To be precise, only 22,000 houses were built. Josh Lehner, an Oregon economist calls this as the “Housing Trilemma”. He believes that there are strong tradeoffs between affordability, quality of life and economic power in Portland.
If you want to buy in Portland, you must travel inwards. There are thousands of single- and multi- family housing projects in the inner regions of Portland. Most of these housing projects were around the suburbs of Washington County, Vancouver and Wilsonville!
Would you be a renter?
On the other hand, renters are extremely lucky in Portland. Though the prices of homes have increased, rents are affordable. There are plenty of themes to help you rent beautiful homes. The entire region has benefited from these rental opportunities. Records reveal that rents were extremely high in 2006. And, suddenly they were not! Unlike the rate at which national prices increased, rents were below peak levels.
“Remember that prices inside Portland are higher than the surrounding regions.”
A Relative Talk
Affordability is a relative concept in the housing industry. When compared against many other metropolitan destinations in the USA, Portland proves to be a good bargain. You will find plenty of migrants investing on affordable and beautiful properties. In fact, these migrants prefer Portland over San Francisco and Los Angeles.
When it comes to prices, homes in San Francisco are 400,000 USD higher than the properties in Portland. However, your median household income will drop by 25,000 USD too! These higher incomes are not directly proportional to the prices of properties. They are likely to change in the years to come.
