PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The average price for an apartment in Portland is more than $2500. The high cost of rent is an issue city leaders are committed to resolving, but for those who need housing, affordable housing, they need help now.
Experts say there aren’t enough units being built. To keep people off the streets, the need for housing is great at this moment.
In 2015 the City of Portland declared an affordable housing emergency, raising the amount of urban renewal dollars toward affordable housing. But 7 years later experts said things have gotten worse.
Nick Sauvie, the co-director of Revitalize Outer Southeast (ROSE), told KOIN 6 News we’re in a critical time now.
“It is really a tough market for renters right now, that just there’s not enough housing for all the people that want housing, and that’s just driven the price of rent quite a bit,” Sauvie said. “I think Portland last year had the highest rent increases of any city in the country.”
According to a Redfin study, rent spiked 39% between March 2021 and March 2022. Sauvie said if you’re looking at affordable housing, be prepared to wait 6 months or more.
Get your name on as many waiting lists as possible, he suggested. Sauvie said they have 1450 affordable home and are developing a new apartment building on Powell.
But the wait is tough on people.
“Unfortunately a lot of people find themselves without housing or with friends or families until they can find a place,” Sauvie said.
The lengthy wait is pretty consistent across the board, he said, and added there is no quicker or slower area where you might find a house.