Zillow: Portland Rents Continue Rising in April

Portland remained the 12th most expensive rental market in the nation in April, says a report released last week by Zumper, an online rental resource. The reports said the median price for one-bedroom apartments increased 0.8 percent since March to $1,340, while rent for two-bedroom apartments increased 0.6 percent to $1,620. Read more in the Portland Tribune.

Oregon State Economist: "Who moves to Portland? Everyone."

A panel of state economists and housing experts meeting with legislators in Tuesday reported, to no surprise, that the main reason rents are increasing is in-migration and limited supply. Read more. 

HFO-TV: Oregon Landlord/Tenant Law Changes [Video]

Attorney Charles Kovas of Warren Allen LLP summarizes changes to Landlord/Tenant laws made during Oregon's 2016 legislative session. One changes is the repeal of a ban on exclusionary zoning requirements for properties of more than 20 units. It also lifts a ban on excise taxes, allowing a tax of 1% on on new residential construction.

These and other 2016 legislative changes are discussed in this video, which runs approximately 18 minutes.

Multnomah County Backs Off Huge Tax Hikes on Accessory Dwelling Units

The Portland Tribune is reporting that Multnomah County has abandoned its recent doubling, tripling or quadrupling of property taxes on ADUs following circulation of new state regulations by the Oregon Department of Revenue. The revenue department regulations say that building an ADU doesn't constitute a zone change. Read the full story.

Axiometrics: Greater Portland Annual Rent Growth for April 2016 falls to 8.7%

Axiometrics reports that U.S. multifamily rent growth has finally fallen below 4% after seven straight quarters as occupancy increased to 95.1%.

Portland's annual effective rent growth for April 2016 was 8.7%. Read more.

Business Journal Launches "Project Watch"

The Portland Business Journal has launched an interactive website called "Project Watch" for those among us who are obsessed with all things under construction. Visit the website here to see a list of hotel, industrial, mixed-use, office, residential (multifamily), retail and other projects.

OPB: Ted Wheeler Says Giving Tenants More Protections First Thing He'll Do As Mayor

Appearing recently before a group of housing activists, leading mayoral candidate Ted Wheeler said the first thing he would do as mayor is give tenants more protections and open an office of landlord-tenant affairs. Read more.

Wheeler has also posted a "Tenant Bill of Rights" on his website.

Tribune: City of Portland Spends $47 Million on 840 Affordable Units

In a cover story in today's Portland Tribune, the newspaper reports on the city's contribution of $47 million to eight projects intended to create or save 840 affordable housing units - the largest in the history of Portland. But the average per unit cost is $213,000 which is raising criticism among some in the industry as being too high. Read more.