I got sticker shock by Vancouver housing price (Longview, Salmon Creek: transplants, sales)

[formosa]

I want to be a WA resident because I am tired of blood sucking Oregon. i understand I will still be paying Oregon income tax (employed by OR firm) but at least my other income will be safe. Besides, I truly love the new waterfront with the great landscape design. I also plan to get a weekend job in WA.


I currently live near Tanasbourne area in Hillsboro and most of my activities are done in between Tanasboune and Orenco station. This well planned area has everything so the housing price is higher.


I just discovered the housing price in Vancouver is not cheaper. I am looking along I-5 corridor because I plan to go back to my office in downtown Portland a couple times a week when the infection is under better control next year. The area I am looking at is from the border up to Hazel Dell. I found that the houses similar to mine have similar price tags like mine, but the areas are far less ideal. I am really shocked.


Besides the high housing price, I also have the following questions.

1. My impression is that WA has lower utility rates. Is that still true?

2. I only shop for necessities and I rarely eat out. I plan to do all that while in Portland so I can save on sales tax. My 15 year old compact car doesn't worth much ($2300) so I don't think I will be paying much fee when I bring it over. Are there other taxes/fees that OR transplants usually don't realize until they move over?

3. I got free parking from work but I also plan to commute on bike when the weather is nice. I am used to 12 mile one way ride between Hillsboro and downtown Portland and I enjoyed it. I read somewhere that biking from Vancouver to Portland or vice versa during rush hours is way faster than driving. Is that the reality?

Any comments is very appreciated.

[TheOrca]

You can bike across the i-205 super fast - in bad rush hour traffic easily beating it

WA has no income tax, and some of the cheapest electric in the world

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by formosa

I want to be a WA resident because I am tired of blood sucking Oregon. i understand I will still be paying Oregon income tax (employed by OR firm) but at least my other income will be safe. Besides, I truly love the new waterfront with the great landscape design. I also plan to get a weekend job in WA.


I currently live near Tanasbourne area in Hillsboro and most of my activities are done in between Tanasboune and Orenco station. This well planned area has everything so the housing price is higher.


I just discovered the housing price in Vancouver is not cheaper. I am looking along I-5 corridor because I plan to go back to my office in downtown Portland a couple times a week when the infection is under better control next year. The area I am looking at is from the border up to Hazel Dell. I found that the houses similar to mine have similar price tags like mine, but the areas are far less ideal. I am really shocked.


Besides the high housing price, I also have the following questions.

1. My impression is that WA has lower utility rates. Is that still true?

2. I only shop for necessities and I rarely eat out. I plan to do all that while in Portland so I can save on sales tax. My 15 year old compact car doesn't worth much ($2300) so I don't think I will be paying much fee when I bring it over. Are there other taxes/fees that OR transplants usually don't realize until they move over?

3. I got free parking from work but I also plan to commute on bike when the weather is nice. I am used to 12 mile one way ride between Hillsboro and downtown Portland and I enjoyed it. I read somewhere that biking from Vancouver to Portland or vice versa during rush hours is way faster than driving. Is that the reality?

Any comments is very appreciated.

Why would you expect Vancouver prices to be lower than Hillsboro? It's all the same basic real estate market. Most of Vancouver is actually CLOSER to downtown Portland than Hillsboro. People don't move to Vancouver because it is cheaper. They move for schools or lower income taxes (for work-at home etc) and for less urban hassles compared to central Portland. The people who move to find cheaper housing end up buying in Salem or Longview and suffering 1+ hour commutes.

I would expect prices to be very much similar if we are comparing apples to apples (similar home in similar neighborhood in similar school district) that is similar commuting distance away from economic centers.

As for biking between Vancouver and downtown Portland? I haven't tried it in a long time but plenty of people do it. But there are some nasty unprotected sections you need to navigate that might be fine on a sunny summer afternoon, not so safe or fun during a dark rainy November evening.

If I was doing a car-free commute to Portland from Vancouver I think I would take the express bus and bring along a small folding Brompton or equivalent to travel the last mile or so at either end so I could just take it on the bus and stash it under my office desk and never have to worry about bike lock security and that sort of thing.

[TheOrca]

South east vancouver closest to 205 and IMO best community

[TheOrca]

Good neighborhoods in vancouver are probably more expensive than most parts of portland

Some neighborhoods in vancouver you wont find a house less than $2 million

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by TheOrca

Good neighborhoods in vancouver are probably more expensive than most parts of portland

Some neighborhoods in vancouver you wont find a house less than $2 million

Seriously? Where are you talking about. The only place I can think of where $2 million houses exist are shoreline properties on Old Evergreen Highway along the Columbia. And even then, the $2 million homes are just the shoreline estates. The homes directly across the street from them that don't have shoreline go for nothing close to $2 million. I guess there are a few pockets down there where it is nothing but shoreline properties and they are all expensive because the other side of the street is railroad tracks. But the prices are for the shoreline, not the neighborhood.

By comparison, Portland doesn't have much at all in the way of shoreline property because the Columbia on the Portland side is mostly industrialized, maritime industry, or airport, as is the Willamette. You gotta go to Lake Oswego or West Linn to find equivalent shoreline estates.

[TheOrca]

There are several gayed communities on the river that only have water front homes in those neighborhoods probably $3m plus

[TheOrca]

you will have tough time finding under $1m in a good evergreen highway neighborhood that's not even on the river if its east of 205

[formosa]

I am in the Silicon Forest area and many people in this area work for the high tech companies such as Intel or so. Here is an economic center. The average and median household income is higher than downtown Portland. Therefore I didn't expect Hazel Dell and Vancouver pricing to be close to Hillsboro. It is truly surprising to me.

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Why would you expect Vancouver prices to be lower than Hillsboro? It's all the same basic real estate market. Most of Vancouver is actually CLOSER to downtown Portland than Hillsboro. People don't move to Vancouver because it is cheaper. They move for schools or lower income taxes (for work-at home etc) and for less urban hassles compared to central Portland. The people who move to find cheaper housing end up buying in Salem or Longview and suffering 1+ hour commutes.

I would expect prices to be very much similar if we are comparing apples to apples (similar home in similar neighborhood in similar school district) that is similar commuting distance away from economic centers.

As for biking between Vancouver and downtown Portland? I haven't tried it in a long time but plenty of people do it. But there are some nasty unprotected sections you need to navigate that might be fine on a sunny summer afternoon, not so safe or fun during a dark rainy November evening.

If I was doing a car-free commute to Portland from Vancouver I think I would take the express bus and bring along a small folding Brompton or equivalent to travel the last mile or so at either end so I could just take it on the bus and stash it under my office desk and never have to worry about bike lock security and that sort of thing.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by formosa

I am in the Silicon Forest area and many people in this area work for the high tech companies such as Intel or so. Here is an economic center. The average and median household income is higher than downtown Portland. Therefore I didn't expect Hazel Dell and Vancouver pricing to be close to Hillsboro. It is truly surprising to me.

Just for comparison sake I googled up some median income stats for the areas we are talking about. Using the census web site for median income

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...egon/RHI225218

The results may surprise you. Felida was the highest income place I found and Camas has a higher median income than both Lake Oswego and West Linn. Obviously there are pockets of extreme wealth in the Portland west hills but I didn't tease any of those out.

Vancouver (city-wide): $58,865
Salmon Creek: $79,292
Felida: $129,957
Hazel Dell: $59,074
Fishers Landing: $86,308
Camas: $106,513
Ridgefield: $95,859
Battle Ground: $70,774

and on the Oregon side

Portland (city-wide): $65,740
Hillsboro: $78,144
Beaverton: $68,586
Lake Oswego: $100,461
West Linn: $104,061
Happy Valley: $124,968
Wilsonville: $69,043
Tigard: $75,795
Tualatin: $81,118