In 2021, Portland, Oregon saw it’s population decline for the first time since 2010. This has been attributed to the high cost of housing. [1] The secretary o

In 2021, Portland, Oregon saw it’s population decline for the first time since 2010. This has been attributed to the high cost of housing. [1] The secretary of HUD was here a month ago taking a tour, talking about affordable housing. We started a family last year and despite needing to move out of a duplex, we would not seriously consider a purchase. Prices and terms of sale have been outrageous. Deciding our best bet was to rent, we found the rental market for single family homes a disaster. The only way we found something was because we know a postal worker who saw a for rent sign while walking their route. The place never hit the internet. The house needs a ton of work and the only way it can be priced the way it is is because the market is so totally busted. My wife tracked pricing and made a spreadsheet of comparable rentals when we signed the lease. I’d guess our rent was at least $400 under market. I grew up in Portland. I went to a portland public school and college in Oregon. I had wanted to live here. However, we need housing to show clear indications it will turn, an unexpected windfall, or we will move away from family here and toward other family in the mid-west. Regular people are desperate here, valley folks are coming in doing the same thing we would do to wherever we could land in the Midwest. Housing is broken. [1] https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/05/27/new-census-numbers-show-portlands-population-dropped-by-over-11000-people-from-2020-to-2021/ https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/05/27/new-census-number...