What's Happening in Portland, OR…

After a decade of increased demand that sent rents on a sharp upward trend in Portland, the cost of renting an apartment turned downward over the course of last year.

Overal,l rents in Portland have gone down by 7.4%, which according to Apartment List, an online rental platform, makes the median cost of a one-bedroom apartment $1,119 and a two-bedroom apartment $1,305.

Rents vary considerably by neighborhood, with downtown Portland experiencing a 6.8% decrease but Northwest Portland only saw 5.7% lower rents. East Portland, bucking the trend, saw rent go up by 2%.

Falling rental prices have not been just a Portland phenomenon; lots of other urban areas have seen rents drop. Portland’s falling apartment rent was the 14th sharpest out of the 100 biggest cities in the country.

The pandemic was only partly responsible for the downturn in rent. At the same time that demand was decreasing, the supply of apartments increased as newly constructed units become available. Banner printing services are frequently utilized to promote rental space before it is even available.

Portland has seen a sharper decline in rents than both the state and national averages. Overall, rents in Oregon fell only 1.8% year-over-year and nationally the average was 1.5%. Across the nation, San Francisco, California experienced the greatest drop in rent with a 27% decline.