Redfin market trend for SW Washington (Vancouver, Salmon Creek: apartments, coops, affordable houses)

[cyberous]

I have some friends trying to buy has house in downtown Vancouver (from Portland) and its been very tough. Still lots of competition/low inventory so I looked up Redfin's current market trends As of 5/30/2019 here's what I found. Hope this helps others that may be thinking of housing in this area.

Salmon Creek 85 Very competitive
Vancouver 82 Very competitive
Portland 78 Very competitive
Ridgefield 71 Very competitive
Camas 65 Somewhat competitive

[Ruth4Truth]

Interesting. What's the demand about, in SW WA? Is that another retiree destination now, like B'ham? Plus some Portlanders are options out of Oregon, maybe, for the WA side? Is it cheaper than Portland?

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Interesting. What's the demand about, in SW WA? Is that another retiree destination now, like B'ham? Plus some Portlanders are options out of Oregon, maybe, for the WA side? Is it cheaper than Portland?

It's all tied to Portland. Downtown Vancouver is only about 10 minutes from downtown Portland if there is no traffic so it is a closer suburb than many of the other suburbs on the Oregon side.

People are moving to Vancouver from the greater Portland metro area because

1. Houses are somewhat cheaper if you are comparing apples to apples (equivalent house in equivalent neighborhood

2. Schools are generally better for equivalent neighorhoods. The Portland side has some very fancy schools but they are pretty much limited to the very affluent neighborhoods. The huge swath of outer east side Portland neighborhoods and further out burbs like Gresham where one can still find somewhat affordable houses have generally more mediocre schools than what one finds in Vancouver. Especially the newer areas like Salmon Creek and East Vancouver.

3. Traffic is much easier on the Vancouver side. Yes, the bridge traffic to Portland sucks, but all the other traffic in Vancouver and Clark County burbs is pretty reasonable and easy if yu aren't trying to cross the I5 or I205 bridges. By comparison places like Beaverton, Wilsonville, Clackamas, Tigard, etc. just melt down with traffic on a daily basis.

4. Vancouver and Clark County is more red (or at least purplish) politically than Portland and a lot of people move over for the more conservative political environment. Vancouver itself is pretty middle of the road purple but the outer suburbs like Battle Ground, Ridgefield, Hockinson, etc. are pretty red.

5. Land use laws in Oregon are very strict so new construction is mostly on very small urban style lots and more dense. Still lots of sprawling new suburbia on the Vancouver side and more is being built every day so if you want that new sprawling suburban house on a larger lot or even acreage then Clark County is a much better bet. Think of the Portland area as a balloon getting squeezed by strict land use laws so the excess pent up demand is spilling across the river. Clark County government is run by pretty pro-growth Republicans who are in bed with all the builders so it is MUCH easier to throw up new subdivisions all over Clark County compared to anywhere on the Oregon side.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Interesting. What's the demand about, in SW WA? Is that another retiree destination now, like B'ham? Plus some Portlanders are options out of Oregon, maybe, for the WA side? Is it cheaper than Portland?

Many from OR come to WA for the schools and when their employers get tired or can no longer afford of OR politics and regs (WA is not much better, but it is better for business / employers. )

The last 2 yrs, Portland property owners have fled the homeless crisis in Portland (family safety issue for some). Finding your tires stolen a few days in a row is not pleasant, nor having to remove human feces from your sidewalk and driveway everyday.

So far, Vancouver has not fallen prey to such serious homeless issues.

[silibran]

Those of us with grown kids living in PDX move to the area fir the grands, but choose to live in Van. Portland is a mess. We like it here.

[Jane917]

Originally Posted by silibran

Those of us with grown kids living in PDX move to the area fir the grands, but choose to live in Van. Portland is a mess. We like it here.

^^

[cyberous]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Interesting. What's the demand about, in SW WA? Is that another retiree destination now, like B'ham? Plus some Portlanders are options out of Oregon, maybe, for the WA side? Is it cheaper than Portland?

One of the social clubs I belong to in Portland has a large number of older affluent members. When they retire (sell/quit their Oregon based business) the cash out of the Portland market and move over to Wa for the tax benefits. I would think Salmon creek is desirable due to the large hospital (important to older people, its where we thought the inlaws could go), affordable housing with new developments and still easy access to downtown Portland if you need. Downtown seems to be an extension of Portland, green and crunchy but with a bit of Starbucks/Whole Foods thrown in. People with designer chicken coops in their backyards. New Tesla's and raised garden beds for landscape . They seem to be 30-40 somethings that are doing well and can work from home. These are just my experiences from the club and friends in the area moving to Wa.

[grega94]

Does anyone know why Vancouver had such a huge growth spurt in 2017? Did Vancouver annex more land?

City: 2018 | 2017 | change | %
Vancouver: 183,012 | 175,673 | +7,339 | +4.2%

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by grega94

Does anyone know why Vancouver had such a huge growth spurt in 2017? Did Vancouver annex more land?

City: 2018 | 2017 | change | %
Vancouver: 183,012 | 175,673 | +7,339 | +4.2%

According to the city, they have added 1900 residents through annexation since 2004 and the most recent ones were all commercial properties so what you are seeing in 2017 is most likely just new construction of houses and apartments coming on line.

https://www.cityofvancouver.us/ced/p...nt-annexations

[grega94]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

According to the city, they have added 1900 residents through annexation since 2004 and the most recent ones were all commercial properties so what you are seeing in 2017 is most likely just new construction of houses and apartments coming on line.

https://www.cityofvancouver.us/ced/p...nt-annexations

But it's such a huge spike compared to 2016, it seems like there is something more, maybe it's just an overestimation?

2017 | 2016 | change | %
175,673 | 173,957 | +1,716 | +1.0%