Affordable housing issue


    Portland, Oregon is facing an increasingly severe, affordable housing crisis due to a long-term housing production deficit, rising home prices, and widening income gaps. Oregon is one of the worst states in the country for underbuilding housing, as demand far exceeds supply with only 14,270 residential permits issued in 2024, and even fewer in recent years. Portland has gone from being an affordable housing market where underwriters viewed $80,000 as a sizable income gap between renters and prospective homebuyers, to almost a third of Portland households considered "cost-burdened" or spending more than 30% of their income on housing alone. To complicate this all are the historical patterns of gentrification and displacement, particularly for communities of color, which make the housing market even more unattainable for low- and middle-income Portland residents.

    In the context of the housing crisis, the City of Portland has now initiated several policy and community-led actions aimed to increase or develop affordable housing. The Affordable Housing Opportunities Project (AHOP) is aiming to revise who can develop affordable housing through anti-zoning laws for nonprofit-owned land, the City’s Housing Production Strategy aims to provide incentives and financing options for middle-income housing, and a coalition of state and local leaders have announced the 5,000 Unit Challenge, waiving development fees to enable quicker builds. Community Land Trusts and regionally-driven efforts like Metro’s bond-based housing investment model support the growth of new supply and preservation of affordability. Additionally, new and more unconventional ideas (e.g. micro-apartments, updating building code to allow single-stair designs) to reduce construction costs and provide unit variety have begun to emerge. In sum, while clearly there are still obstacles to affordable housing and move-out options in Portland, the City of Portland has become intentional and strategic in creating a collaborative and holistic housing system that aims to create a more equitable housing supply in the future.

  • Axios. (2025, January 29). Oregon among top states for underproducing housing. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/01/29/income-needed-to-buy-home-oregon

  • Axios. (2025, May 13). Portland homebuyers now need $80K more income than renters. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/local/portland/2025/05/13/portland-homebuyers-renters-income-gap

  • City of Portland. (2023, March 22). New housing report shows unprecedented affordable housing production, rising cost burdens. Retrieved from https://www.portland.gov/phb/news/2023/3/22/new-housing-report-shows-unprecedented-affordable-housing-production-rising


  • Comments

    Popular posts from this blog

    Since 2007, Oregon has "frequently reported the highest rate of unsheltered family homelessness in the nation"

    Camp Clearing on the West Coast

    Trump’s Executive Order Freeze Stands to Impact Portland’s Most Vulnerable – Here’s How You Can Help