HFO Multifamily Marketwatch for Oregon and SW Washington

This week: tenants in a SE Portland apartment complex decide to go on a rent strike; the Portland City Council postpones voting on the residential infill plan; while on the national stage, a California Senator is calling for the federal government to create a tax credit for families who spend more than 30% of their income on rent.

This week: the Portland City Council has created a housing registry landlords of one or more units; Metro council staff released the draft 2018 Urban Growth report, and a recent survey finds growing frustration between Seattle landlords and their City Council.

Olympia Washington's planning commission recommends city-wide zoning changes to encourage more "missing middle housing;" Oregon's property tax limits are criticized by DC-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities for forcing cities and counties to charge fees disproportionately impacting the poor...and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler claims the city is making progress on the issue of homelessness.

This week: The possibility of oversupply in the Portland market has developers feeling jittery; Portland's planning commission endorsed a new zone that mobile home park residents hope will save them from redevelopment; and a new study indicates that if Americans want European levels of density, they will need to choose between single family and high rises, or streets dominated entirely by mid-rise buildings similar to Berlin and Paris.

This week: Attorney Andy Hahs offers details of the City of Portland's relocation fee program. Hahs also covers potential issues with the City of Portland's draft tenant screening plan. Hahs is a partner with Bittner & Hahs, P.C.

This week: The Zidell family calls it quits for now on developing 33-acres on the South Waterfront; Portland posts top gains in educated adults, and hundreds of both luxury condos and 250-square foot microunits are--or soon will be--under construction in Portland.

This week: Portland's mayor proposes a plan to help renters expunge criminal convictions; climate change is having the least impact on Oregon and Washington; Portland and Multnomah county government are working together on a plan to allow homeless families to park overnight on church property and the Portland City Council imposed a 2% fee on short-term rentals to support Travel Portland and a $4 per night fee to support low-income housing.

This week: Portland's mayor proposes a plan to help renters expunge criminal convictions; climate change is having the least impact on Oregon and Washington; Portland and Multnomah county government are working together on a plan to allow homeless families to park overnight on church property and the Portland City Council imposed a 2% fee on short-term rentals to support Travel Portland and a $4 per night fee to support low-income housing.

This week: The Portland City Council puts off for another year a vote on seismic retrofit requirements; The National Multifamily Housing Council reports that over 30 percent of the cost of multifamily development is due to governmental regulation; and the Oregonian editorial board questions whether Metro's plan to place a $652 million affordable housing bond on the November ballot is enough to make a difference in the housing crisis.

This week: After holding off for several months, the City of Portland begins spending money from the affordable housing bond; Metro receives requests from four cities in Oregon to expand the urban growth boundary, and cities across the country begin to see the impacts of the national housing shortage.