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Within the past few years, Portland, OR, has become one of the nation’s hottest housing markets. Realtor.com stated that it has become a hub for lower home prices and thriving startups, which draws younger Americans into the area. Additionally, cost-conscious residents from Seattle and California have been relocating in Portland for the lower home prices. Recently, Portland has been in the news more and more due to the Black Lives Matter protests. These protests have been persistent and highly volatile. Similar to other urban business districts, Portland’s economy is suffering from the COVID-19 impacts. With both COVID and the protests impacting the local economy, experts are saying the real estates values may decrease.

WHAT ELSE DID THE REPORT SAY?

A real estate finance professor at Portland State, Gerald Mildner, stated, “For a lot of the condo and apartment [dwellers], this is extremely disruptive. To be a resident of downtown is quite challenging, given the noise and the violence”. The boarded-up stores, empty buildings, and growing homeless population may cause people looking to move to Portland to look elsewhere. Fortunately, not everyone believes this. According to Deb Counts-Tabor, “the entire city is not in flames. The majority of the protests are happening in a four block section of downtown Portland around the federal building”. This might be the reason why home prices are still on the rise in the area. Realtor.com data reported that median home prices in the Portland metropolitan area increased 5.3% this year, to roughly $500,000. However, these numbers include nearby towns and suburbs. When you look at the home prices downtown, they are declining. Counts-Tabor informed realtor.com that the declining prices are not due to COVID or the protests. She stated, “Our inventory is so low, and has been so low for long, and money is so cheap, neither the virus nor the uprising has had much of an impact on the market”.  

Click here to read the full report from Realtor.com and learn more.

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