Portland Real Estate Market thread

[Derek]

Any chance of seeing some of the old condo turned apartment buildings being converted back to condos?

[pdxlexus]

One problem might be this. A builder just put up 4 units, each on 2500 sqft lot (2 stand alone, 2 common wall) in Sellwood. Each is priced well north of $600K. That might be a tad bit our of reach for a young couples just starting out. I haven't been in the house buying market for a long time so I don't know how that compares to other areas of the city.

[RED_PDXer]

There's rarely more than one or two homes west of 60th available for less than $400k, and when they are they are snatched up in bidding wars with all cash in hand - completely untenable for a first time homebuyer. I'd say that condos at or below that price point would be very attractive. I've noticed condo prices downtown are inching upwards, but perhaps not enough to make them more attractive investment than apartments? The Cyan and the relatively new building at Burnside outside the Timbers field both were designed to hit that first time homebuyer market at prices below $300k. The Cyan went apartments and the other building took forever to actually sell all the units.

Personally I'd love to buy a condo close-in, but I can't stomach the lack of patio or sizable balconies with the new buildings I'm seeing.

[jaxg8r1]

Another problem is that the conforming loan standards for Multnomah County are too low. The maximum amount for a loan to be conforming (not jumbo) is $417k. Rarely do houses go for less than that, so you have to do either a two loan situation or a jumbo (higher interest rate)

[zilfondel]

I heard that houses can be had for under $300k generally east of 122nd-ish.

I currently live in Sellwood, and they are building several small apartment buildings on house-sized lots with units going for $1k/bedroom. Houses generally rent for less than $1,500/month here.

[maccoinnich]

For anyone depressed at Portland property prices, have a look at Chicago and get even more depressed. There's a large selection of newly built condos, under $250,000, inside or within walking distance of the Loop.

[soleri]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

For anyone depressed at Portland property prices, have a look at Chicago and get even more depressed. There's a large selection of newly built condos, under $250,000, inside or within walking distance of the Loop.

I have some friends who are thinking about relocating to Chicago for that very reason. Wages are higher and housing prices in certain areas are dramatically lower. The market never lies, of course. Chicago is cheap for a reason - winters are Arctic-cold, the murder rate is high, and parts of the city are forlorn beyond all hope. But it's still a world-class city with a stunning downtown, architectural masterpieces, and legacy greatness that make Portland look like a rural backwater. I love Portland because it's so easy to manage. But whenever I visit Chicago, I get high off the fumes. Such an amazing city.

[BrG]

Originally Posted by soleri

I have some friends who are thinking about relocating to Chicago for that very reason. Wages are higher and housing prices in certain areas are dramatically lower. The market never lies, of course. Chicago is cheap for a reason - winters are Arctic-cold, the murder rate is high, and parts of the city are forlorn beyond all hope. But it's still a world-class city with a stunning downtown, architectural masterpieces, and legacy greatness that make Portland look like a rural backwater. I love Portland because it's so easy to manage. But whenever I visit Chicago, I get high off the fumes. Such an amazing city.

Well said. I'm romanced by it every time I visit. Although I have to remind myself it's July and not January.

Still, the temptation to relocate is there, for a myriad of reasons.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by BrG

Well said. I'm romanced by it every time I visit. Although I have to remind myself it's July and not January.

Still, the temptation to relocate is there, for a myriad of reasons.

I know what you mean, there was a point in my life where I almost left Portland for Chicago for grad school and to just enjoy living there. I definitely understand why anyone would want to live there because it is an impressive city....but Portland has turned me into such a wuss with cold weather that I have found I cannot stand any place that drops below 32 degrees regularly in the winter.

[cityscapes]

I feel the same way as all of you guys do about Chicago. You definitely get a lot more real city than you do for your money there compared to Portland. Transit is better / more substantial, better cultural institutions, and it's way cheaper. I guess the food scene isn't as good but I can't imagine it being bad either.

After living in London and visiting other world cities and big US cities I feel like I'm overpaying to be in a lower tier US city sometimes. My rent in London was about the same as I pay here, granted the space was smaller and not as nice, but in exchange I had access to some of the best transit, museums, restaurants, shopping, parks etc. in the world. As I've traveled more I've also realized a lot of the things that Portland is known for are not unique to Portland. The good coffee shops and bike friendly culture can be had in Berlin for less and it's often times it's done better. DC and Minneapolis seem to be making better strides with bike infrastructure investment and Denver is putting a lot of money into transit. Yet we're having some of the most insane price increases. It doesn't make sense to me as to why it's happening. It's great here but not *that* great, and certainly not great enough to justify some of these prices.

I live in a new building and a huge % of the people moved here blindly from other states. Primarily California but there's plenty of east coast or even PNW transplants in the building. Many of whom are using their savings to be here and are still looking for jobs. It will be interesting to see how it pans out when a lot of these people can't find jobs here to sustain the high rent.

One couple from Chicago visited Portland for a few days and decided to move here for the "culture and to live in a city where they could live without a car". Two months later I see they bought a Subaru. Talked to one of them in the elevator recently and they said they don't really like it here because the people are strange. I wonder how many transplants will end up leaving for reasons similar.

Overall my biggest concern is that there is a huge disconnect between the prices in the housing market (rental and owned) and the local wages and job market. It's also worrisome that it's rare to find any property for sale under $350,000 in inner SE and NE and N. Developers really should start building condos again. With interest rates right now, my mortgage would definitely be lower than my rent right now. The only problem is there's not enough supply for people like me to find anything in the areas I'd want to live. The only two condos I can think of near me (28th & Burnside, and Division & 26th) only have one unit for sale in each and they're over priced and have weird layouts... So in the mean time way too much of my monthly income will continue going towards rent.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by cityscapes

Talked to one of them in the elevator recently and they said they don't really like it here because the people are strange. I wonder how many transplants will end up leaving for reasons similar.

Ha ha! Did they not get the whole Keep Portland Weird / Portlandia memo before they moved here? Sure, there's some trying-to-hard-to-be-weird residents here, but I wouldn't say Portland is in danger of losing many transplants over it. It would have happened by now. But people keep flocking here in spite of (and because of) the weirdness. And really it just keeps getting less and less weird with the continued population growth and gentrification of once-quirky / sleepy neighborhoods.

The disconnect between property values and incomes is concerning, but I the rapid growth of the high paying software industry here has helped fuel the boom. It's not just jobless transplants coming here for good coffee and beer anymore, seems like the rents wouldn't allow it these days.

[Derek]

I must be the only person who doesn't see the "weirdness" of Portland, and I say this as a transplant from San Diego.

[cityscapes]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Ha ha! Did they not get the whole Keep Portland Weird / Portlandia memo before they moved here? Sure, there's some trying-to-hard-to-be-weird residents here, but I wouldn't say Portland is in danger of losing many transplants over it. It would have happened by now. But people keep flocking here in spite of (and because of) the weirdness. And really it just keeps getting less and less weird with the continued population growth and gentrification of once-quirky / sleepy neighborhoods.

The disconnect between property values and incomes is concerning, but I the rapid growth of the high paying software industry here has helped fuel the boom. It's not just jobless transplants coming here for good coffee and beer anymore, seems like the rents wouldn't allow it these days.

There are a lot of trying hard to be weird people here (they annoy the hell out of me) but since they're tattooed and bearded and fit that quirky PDX millennial image I don't think that this is what she was talking about when they thought the people here were strange.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by cityscapes

There are a lot of trying hard to be weird people here (they annoy the hell out of me)

Man did you hit the nail on the head when you said "trying hard to be weird." That's exactly it. Portland's culture is becoming a caricature of itself as newcomers flood into the city and go overboard in hopes of fitting in with what they've been led to believe Portland is all about when they were watching Portlandia and following viral video links.

I never hear Portlanders use the phrase Keep Portland Weird. I only ever hear it from the newcomers - the ones who still have out of state plates. It's been that way for around a decade, but it's gotten really bad over the last few years.

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by cityscapes

There are a lot of trying hard to be weird people here (they annoy the hell out of me) but since they're tattooed and bearded and fit that quirky PDX millennial image I don't think that this is what she was talking about when they thought the people here were strange.

Yeah they annoy me too, what do you think she was referring to?

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Yeah they annoy me too, what do you think she was referring to?

I imagine these people aren't referring to the obvious "weirdness" of hipster culture or the handful of life-as-art folks, but more to subtle cultural abnormalities that exist here. I moved here from California a little over five years ago and I have always felt that there is something a little off about the people here. Don't get me wrong, I love this city, but I have always found it difficult to relate to the people here. They are "weird" but not in an obvious way. It is a subtle weirdness that I have always found difficulty articulating.

[cityscapes]

Originally Posted by RainDog

I imagine these people aren't referring to the obvious "weirdness" of hipster culture or the handful of life-as-art folks, but more to subtle cultural abnormalities that exist here. I moved here from California a little over five years ago and I have always felt that there is something a little off about the people here. Don't get me wrong, I love this city, but I have always found it difficult to relate to the people here. They are "weird" but not in an obvious way. It is a subtle weirdness that I have always found difficulty articulating.

I know what you mean, but since a good % of people aren't from here would you say people end up assimilating into that hard to describe weirdness or they were like that already and it attracted them to Portland. I didn't want to put words in my neighbors mouth or speculate but if I had written a response regarding the question of what they were referring to this would have been it. I feel it too but I've been here way longer than they have and don't really notice it anymore.

People are weird everywhere in different ways.

[MarkDaMan]

Solid job growth will continue to fuel the multifamily fire in 2016
Jan 5, 2016, 10:31am PST
Jon Bell
Staff Reporter
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...T&t=1452025551

If Berkadia has its numbers right, the Portland metro region will add a bunch of new jobs — and a bunch of new apartment units — in the coming year.

The real estate research firm recently issued its annual apartment research report and forecast for the nation and select metro regions. For Portland, Berkadia expects businesses to add more than 29,400 workers in the next 12 months.

To help house those workers, builders are expected to deliver 4,050 new apartment units in 2016; more than 6,000 units will be permitted this year alone.

Along with those developments, Berkadia is forecasting apartment vacancy rates to hover around 4 percent; rents will likely continue to rise by an additional 7.5 percent to an average of $1,430 per month.

Those solid fundamentals will continue to make Portland and its multifamily market an attractive target for institutional investors, according to Berkadia's report. Investors will be looking for top-notch properties to snatch up, but Berkadia also forecasts increased competition for "middle tier" properties in the Class B and Class C range.

In addition to forecasting the year ahead, Berkadia also sized up the year that was in Portland's multifamily market, noting that employment rose by 38,100 jobs, the apartment vacancy rate fell to 3.9 percent and builders delivered 2,700 new units.

Berkadia had a few sizable transactions in the Portland market in 2015, most notably the $41.5 million sale of Burnside 26, a 135-unit apartment project built for about $15.4 million in 2014.

[downtownpdx]

Oregon is nation's top moving destination, studies find

Print Email Luke Hammill | The Oregonian/OregonLive By Luke Hammill | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on January 07, 2016 at 5:00 AM, updated January 07, 2016 at 5:01 AM

Two moving companies both say Oregon is the nation's top relocation destination – percentage-wise, at least.

United Van Lines and Atlas Van Lines performed studies tracking the percentage of inbound and outbound moves in each state in the country. Oregon topped both lists – Atlas found that 64 percent of moves in Oregon were inbound, and United found that 69 percent of moves were inbound. United said that 2015 was the third straight year that Oregon ranked first.

That's likely no surprise to the people already living here. In 2015, Oregon topped 4 million people for the first time. ...

continues...http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...rt_river_index

[MarkDaMan]

Many Portland rents just fell (we're not kidding), but not in the priciest neighborhood
Feb 23, 2016, 10:40am PST
Jon Bell
Staff Reporter
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...T&t=1456256276

What Portland neighborhood was once home to little more than dilapidated warehouses and potholed streets but now commands $2,200 a month for a one-bedroom apartment?

If the Pearl District came to mind, you're spot on. And that $2,200 rent? According to a new analysis from Zumper, that was by far the highest median rent in the entire city in January.

However, as those rents rise, somehow, many in the rest of the city paid less.

Median rents for one-bedroom apartment fell by 1.4 percent in January to a median of $1,360; two-bedroom units rose by about 0.6 percent to $1,570 per month.

The company's latest national rent report found that the next priciest neighborhoods behind the Pearl, somewhat surprisingly, were Old Town Chinatown, at $1,560 for a one bedroom, and Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill, at $1,550 for a one-bedroom unit.

Zumper's report found that Portland is the 12th most-expensive rental market in the country.

Jon covers real estate for the Portland Business Journal. Sign up for his daily newsletter to hear about new projects and get behind-the-scenes looks at Portland's rapidly changing built environment.