First of all, let's figure out which year was the worst for this area. When I was browsing Trulia.com, I saw a graph that depicted home sales. 2009 was by far the worst year for home sales. Portland was definitely a victim of the housing bubble, though. The home sales prices almost doubled between 2000 and 2007. This goes to show you should always do your research and be careful when it comes to buying a home. Find out through the local property tax office what homes around this one sold for recently or ask your real estate agent to give you the statistics. Never buy a home with a realtor that is pushing you to pay more than what you should or want to for a house. You need to be comfortable with your purchase and a real professional knows that fact and is sensitive to it.
Secondly, let's figure out what neighborhoods seem to be the best to buy in from the research I've performed. Rose City Park is one popular neighborhood located on the northeast side of the city. It has laid back restaurants, coffee shops, and a median home price of $339K. The neighborhood of Powellhurst offers a family vibe with quick access to major roadways as well as a median price around $175K for homes. This is definitely a good option for a family on a budget that wants to reside in southeast Portland. Irvington features unique homes with easy access to the freeway and restaurants. This northeast Portland neighborhood doesn't come cheap, though. The median home price in this area is about $500K. Mount Tabor is another popular Portland neighborhood on the southeast side of the city. The homes in this neighborhood are older and have a lot of charm. It is very close to the popular Hawthorne district. Homes in this area go for around $425K. This is the price we pay for charm. There are several other desirable areas in Portland, but these are all I'm going to share with you since we still have to go over what's been going on in Portland's market.
Although this year is better than 2009, the market has still seen better days. In the period of March through May of this year, the average price per square foot was $172. This is about a 10% decline from the same period of time last year. The median sales price of Portland homes is said to be around $245K this year. It is about 4% lower than last year's median number. The average family earning around $45K per year would have to save up while renting for a while before purchasing their first home in order to afford the monthly payments.
Since I mentioned renting, what is that market like in Portland? Although I'm unable to give clear findings on the average rental cost, I know this area is unlike Houston when it comes to renting logic. You definitely have to have a substantial down payment on a home in this city in order for your monthly payment to match or be lower than the monthly rent for the same home. All that said, you probably will have higher quality tenants in Portland versus Houston.
That's all I have for Portland! Please comment if you have further insight.
