Portland Monthly Real Estate Issue & Neighborhood Reference
May 8th, 2008
It’s May, and I’m a little remiss in mentioning the April 2008 issue of Portland Monthly and their annual real estate issue.
This year, the issue seems a little lighter, but they report on the general market health, identify seven housing trends, rate a few top neighborhoods based on price (low and high), short-term and long-term appreciation, and pace of sales. The article concludes with their Neighborhoods by the Numbers section — measuring real estate factors, school performance, population mix, crime stats, parks, and commute times.
Trends they note:
- Fewer Californian immigrants
- Homes as personal brands
- The attraction of living in the suburbs/exurbs
- Opportunities in a soft condo market
- A growing, aging population in Portland
- Rising rents — 10 to 15%
- Remodeling ‘green’
Last year, they posted the ‘Neighborhoods by the Numbers’ section on their website, but I don’t find it yet this year.
Out of respect for their copyright, I won’t post a copy of the articles here, but since it’s off the newsstand, you can email me and I’ll send it along.
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Related posts:
- Portland Monthly Neighborhoods of Choice
- Craigslist Shakes Up Real Estate for Sale Section
- Portland Monthly’s Neighborhoods of Note
Entry Filed under: Communities, Livability, Relocation
3 Comments Add your own
1. bearlee | May 8th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
And a fellow blogger posted a great rebuttal to the article back on March 31st
http://portlandhousing.blogspot.com/2008/03/portland-housing-buy-here-now.html
As for rents increasing, I beg to differ. I am a renter as of last May I have noticed rents declining in the NW 23rd area and my ‘hood, Forest Heights. The lower rents in FH can be attributed to competition. Too many folks trying to sell condos and townhomes and seem to have decided to enter the rental market instead.
2. bearlee | May 8th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I think my first comment got filtered?!?! So instead of the link I am going to C&P some of the content from the rebuttal to this issue of the Portland Monthly
Remember that this was from a March 31st post and since then more bad news has hit Portland, including the Case-Shiller Report for February
From the Portland Housing Blog:
The latest issue of Portland Monthly hit the stands this week. The cover story is about Portland real estate and why Portland is still America’s hottest hometown. Here are the reasons why you must BUY HERE NOW according to Portland Monthly:
Low foreclosures. In 2007 little more than one percent of our existing home loans were in foreclosure or seriously delinquent, giving us the second-lowest foreclosure rate in the country behind Alaska.
My rebuttal: Oregon now ranks 25th in the nation for foreclosure activity according to RealtyTrac.
Home prices still going up. In February the Economist reported that Portland was one of three U.S. cities where prices actually increased in 2007. While we saw an increase of 6.3 percent the rest of the country saw a collective drop of 8.9 percent.
My rebuttal: Old news; Portland is now down 6% and dropping.
Conservative lending practices are a tradition in Oregon. Sub-prime loans made up only 10.5 percent of our states home loan business in 2006.
My rebuttal: Sub-prime was out of control here too.
Asian connections. Oregon has a strong relationship with the strong Asian markets. Much of the states export business is oriented toward the Far East.
My rebuttal: No rebuttal; I agree.
The creative class loves Portland. Those clever professionals moving here in droves are doing more than just designing the sneakers and computer chips that keep our companies in the black; they are driving the housing market from the bottom up.
My rebuttal: I’m tired of hearing how the creative class and Portland are peas in a pod. I thought the creatives rejected the Nikes and Intels of the world and created a path of their own.
3. Ron Ares | May 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
BL,
I fished your first comment out of the spam heap, sorry.
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