Good News: Real Estate and Employment Trends for Portland Metro

The State of Oregon has released the latest information on employment, job growth and real estate trends, as follows:

Real Estate Trends
The region saw permits for 871 units filed in May. Permit numbers jump around every month, but the region has averaged about 1,000 permits over the last three months, a level we haven’t seen since 2007. For the first five months of 2013, permits are up 69 percent from the same period last year. Should this remarkable trend hold, the region can expect to see a major increase in construction projects and employment this summer.

The growing ambition of real estate developers in the region is likely related to the strong increase
in home values. Case-Shiller estimates that home prices were up almost 13 percent in April compared to last year.

Portland Metro Employment
For the Portland Metro region, the May unemployment rate of 7.3 percent is down a full point
from a year ago. This places the regional unemployment rate below the US rate, after several
years of being higher. The Portland metropolitan region saw jobs grow at a healthy pace of 2.3 percent in May compared to May of last year.  The Portland region saw growth across most major private sectors as government was flat. High tech manufacturing is down slightly, while the rest of durable manufacturing is growing.

Area Wages - Hillsboro Leads: 

• The median earnings by workers in the Portland Metro region was $33,877 in 2011 according to the US Census. The city of Hillsboro stands out in the region, with people who work in that city earning an average of $43,535 -- 29 percent higher than the regional average.
• Hillsboro’s high wages aren’t the only thing worth boasting about, job growth there has also been strong, with 5,628 new jobs since 2006 despite the major recession that began in 2008. Gresham similarly had impressive job growth for a city of its size.  

Source: Portland Metro Economic Indicators report.