Increased Construction Beginning to Ease Apartment Affordability

According to a new report put out by Apartment List, median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Portland is down 0.6% from the same time last year. In fact, 55 of the top 100 cities have seen three consecutive months of decreasing rents. Portland still ranks #21 on the list, indicating that rents are still strong in the metro area. Andrew Woo, director of data science for Apartment List, attributes the slowing growth rate for rents in Portland to an increase in supply due to construction activity. He also notes that Portland has more room to grow than other cities such as New York or San Francisco. The study also found that renter income in Portland has increased by 8.7% this year, a much higher rate than the typical 4-6% seen on a national level. Read more.