Why is rent skyrocketing? (Portland, Detroit: apartment, how much, houses)

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Discovery1

The real problem are Urban boundaries , zoning, go green, go hungry all equal less housing to support growing population leading to higher home prices = higher rent.
All of these craps will hurt consumers, next comes retailers which will all slow the local economy. That is how you see small businesses and bigger ones are having tough time in Portland and there you will retain higher unemploment leading to lower wages.

You should blame the people you voted for.

On the other hand, 70-90% of all of Oregon's Economy (depending on the study you read and what industries they're covering,) is generated within an UGB.

There is a fine balance, and Metro has done a decent job of balancing needs, especially considering the number of municipalities and government agencies on all levels that they interact with.

If we didn't have Urban Growth Boundaries, I'm pretty confident in stating that the Willamette Valley would be paved over with Ghetto and our over all Economy would not be in as good of a shape as it is. Nor would Oregon's livability be fairly high compared to other states.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Sprightly

So my title says it all - why is rent skyrocketing over the last two years on the west side of Portland? Can't speak to the east. It is rising so quickly that there is no way that people's salaries in general could keep up, so what happens - do ordinary people just get driven farther and farther out? Does it become next to impossible for an adult with an ordinary job to rent in a decent area without roommates? I never thought I'd get priced out of where I'm living now - hell I moved here to save money originally.

Supply and demand is the answer.

Of course people are not going to be able to live forever in the most desirable areas of town and continue to pay the same (or gently increasing) rent. At least, not until (if ever) the area becomes less desirable.

So yes, the solution usually is to get "driven" further out of town, where rents are cheaper, because the location is not as desirable. Or buy.

[Minervah]

I also agree with supply and demand. I think people moved SW neighborhoods to escape the more expensive SE and NE neighborhoods but still be close to downtown but still not be too far from the core and so rental prices there increased.

Back in the day it was just the opposite. One of the reasons I moved from my SW neighborhood back in the 80's was because my rent kept increasing and the in SE neighborhood I moved to rentals were dirt cheap. Few people wanted to live there at the time.

[Sprightly]

Thank you all for your replies. Most of all I agree with Turquoise that there needs to be more tenant protection laws and some limit to how much a landlord can raise rent at one time. There are laws like these in other states.

Supply and demand is all very well, but I'm just surprised that since the economy is still depressed that rents have risen so dramatically. I mean really are there that many people coming in with extremely well paying jobs at Nike and Intel to support that many overpriced rental complexes? Places that are nothing special and used to charge $500-ish for a one bedroom only five years ago and now are charging 900+.

[SETabor]

I think there are enough people coming in that think $900 for a one bedroom in a good neighborhood is a steal to support it.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by SETabor

I think there are enough people coming in that think $900 for a one bedroom in a good neighborhood is a steal to support it.

Those are probably the people who are moving from places where the rents are even higher and come with either skills for the higher paying available jobs or with those kinds of jobs waiting for them. Also it's become common for people to have roommates in apartments that once only held one person. My landlord was telling me this. He had to finally limit how many people he would allow sharing one of his one bedroom apartments.

The monster studio and one bedroom apartments going up all over the place are supposed to alleviate this problem but we shall see.

[lookinforhorseparadise]

Originally Posted by PDXJ

Portland is an attractive place to live. Rents are catching up to that notion.

Some of the other factors listed above affect rents too, but bottom line, if people find a place more desirable, they are going to be willing to pay more to live there.

Or as I say, the best places to live always cost more......where would you pay more to live, a 50 year old trailer home in rural Tornado Alley, OK or an apartment in a culturally stimulating city with a nicer climate. Quality of life costs money plain and simple.

[NWGirl74]

In addition to new people moving in, I wonder what percentage of the rental market is now being taken by those who have had their homes foreclosed?

[lookinforhorseparadise]

Originally Posted by Minervah

The monster studio and one bedroom apartments going up all over the place are supposed to alleviate this problem but we shall see.

I think you mean the new "micro" studio buildings.....well I believe the developers got permission to build these things by playing "humanitarian" and saying they were doing more to provide affordable housing.....but it is all just a smokescreen because they are effectively raising the rate *per square foot* by renting these micros....which all sets the stage for eventually getting more per square foot for all the other apts as well. So in reality it is not helping anything but their bank accounts. As long as other major cities price people out of their markets, people will be looking for alternative urban areas to migrate to......and let's face it, the show Portlandia probably had something to do with the increased popularity. Demand is all tied into population density. The issue of population control I won't expound on because that would likely be viewed as politically incorrect.

Back to the discussion about desirable places costing more....let's look at say Detroit. One can buy a house there for under 10 K I hear, maybe even less. Any takers? Anyone? Anyone???? No?, OK, so that is my point. People won't take an extremely bad place to live even when it is nearly free.

[turquoise1]

Sprightly, it's true. It is such a free-for-all in Oregon that I think some people might be unaware of the protections that exist in other states.