Oregon Households Struggling With Rising Costs

 Oregon’s housing crisis stems from decades of underproduction leaving the state 140,000 units short of what they actually need. It comes from multiple factors including restrictive land laws from 1973, as well as historically racist zoning policies for single families, and bad infrastructure funding. This directly impacts Portland residents' ability to afford housing because more than half of Oregon renters don't have enough money after paying rent to afford other basics, including food, child care, internet access and transportation.

The severe housing shortage creates limited rental vacancies, allowing landlords to raise rents with few repercussions and pushing people into cost-burdened situations - exemplified by the article's featured friends who had to buy a house together because neither could afford one alone. To learn more visit this link https://www.opb.org/article/2023/07/26/oregon-cost-of-living-housing-construction-building-land-use-high-rent/