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Portland OR Metro Real Estate Introduction Sep 2022

Compared to some west coast big cities, Portland is a little bit smaller but it has its own charm – green, laidback, and fun. You can easily access some amazing scenes within one hour drive – mountains, rivers and beach scene. You can do so many outdoor activities here.

<Authorized by sungchoi photography>

Portland’s name was shamed during Covid for its downtown protests. But it’s still a great town for many reasons. Here are some reasons you should consider investing in Portland’s real estate now!!!

Reason #1: Relatively Cheap Compared to Other West Coast Cities.

Tech company jobs，mild climate, cultural diversity, etc. West coast is always the top option for many investors or immigrants for many reasons. Between Seattle, The Bay area and Los Angeles, Portland is affordable and cost-effective.  If you compare the income to house price, it’s affordable here.  And rents return more profit with less risk compared to the other major West Coast large cities.

2022 Q2 Median Price in Major West Coast Cities: (single family house)

Reason #2: Acceptable Rental Cash Flow + Strong Appreciation

West coast houses are known for strong appreciation but bad cash flow when it’s a rental. In Bellevue or San Jose, a 1.5M house can only rent for $4000-5000. But being a landlord in Portland area could still expect some positive cash flow. For example, a 450k rental, with 330K loan, if interest rate is 6%, monthly payment is about $1979 + $450 tax, insurance. Monthly rent is about $2300-2500. It’s solid cash flow with the appreciation component.

Reason #3: Asian Community is Growing

Portland metro Asian population is about 8.65% (Chinese 1.7%, Korean 0.4%). In Seattle Asian population is about 16.3%  (Chinese 7.3%, Korean about 1.1%）These numbers are growing each year. A lot of Asian chain businesses have opened here recently including grocery stores (H-mart, Ranch 99), bakeries (Tous Le Jours, Paris Baugette, 85 degree), Restaurants (Din Tai Fung), Bubble tea shops (Sharetea, Tiger Sugar, Yomie Rice Yogart.) These chain franchises have done their own research and believe they can thrive with the increasing Asian population.

4 Popular Counties –

Washington, Multnomah, Clackamas, Clark

Washington County

This is my favorite. West of Portland downtown. There are many good high paying jobs here with Nike, Intel, Columbia Sportswear and other tech firms. Practical local governments, diverse & educated population, good schools and healthy commercial opportunities.

Popular cities here: Beaverton, Tigard, NW Portland (97229), Sherwood, Hillsboro. You can choose quiet residential neighborhoods to raise kids or some convenient locations with walking distance restaurants & shopping. If you purchase a rental property here, usually you will run into better quality renters.

Big employers here:

Intel has several campuses in Hillsboro (22,000 employees.) Intel offers a lot of high paying engineer jobs + mid-level technician jobs. There are also many smaller sized employers here as Intel suppliers. Intel’s future is pretty secure since Congress passed “Chip Act” in 2022 to sponsor domestic semiconductors manufactures. In many ways it’s a safe bet to invest in this area.

Nike Headquarter in Beaverton (8000 employees)

Nike are still building several high-rise office buildings, including a brand new Serena Williams Building opened in April 2022.

Other good employers in Washington County: Lam Research, ASML (600), Microsoft (200), Apple has a small Lab too.

Multnomah County

Multnomah county’s core is Downtown Portland and extends to the East side. It’s where Portland started. A lot of historical buildings and interesting stories here. You will find the most creative food culture and art scenes. Multnomah county is also known for its progressive political views shared by most residents. There are many great neighborhoods with high Walkscore. Biking is very popular in this area too.

Some criticisms though are 1. Too Political 2. Higher tax 3. Homeless issue 4. Increasing crime rate. In general, this is an area most investors will avoid at this time. But it’s still a big draw for young people. If you are someone drawn to interesting city life, bar/restaurant experience, and more social life, this area is perfect for you.

Good communities: Inner SE Portland, NE Portland, Pearl District, Sellwood.

Clackamas County

Another great area with slightly conservative atmosphere.

Lake Oswego is very popular and is where you will probably see the most local “Old money”. If Washington county generates “Tech money,” Old money comes from inheritance, finance and legal industry, and all kinds of self-employed businesses. Great schools and cute businesses everywhere. Houses are a little bit older here and pretty expensive.

West Linn located next to Lake Oswego and is somewhat similar. But it is quieter and even more residential.  

If you go further East to Happy Valley and Clackamas, or south to Wilsonville, these cities are also good neighborhoods with cheaper and newer houses.

Clark County (Vancouver WA)

Portland lies just south of Vancouver Washington. The 2 cities are divided by Columbia River. Vancouver WA is another popular place for investors for the following reasons:

Vancouver is slightly cheaper but also still part of Portland Metro.

Cheaper property tax, NO State income TAX ,(Compared to Oregon average 9% income tax) Since work from home became a new norm, it has drawn a lot of high paying WFH folks to move here.

Slightly more friendly to landlords compared to Portland.

Cleaner and less homeless issues

Camas and Ridgefield are considered 2 cities with best schools. Union High in Vancouver is good too. Other than school districts and hospitals, some famous employers are: Fisher Investment (1700 employees), Wafer Tech (A TSMC company,500-1000 employees), HP (700 employees)

Concerns:

Lacking of a giant cornerstone employer like Intel that can drive and maintain economic growth.

Only relying on highway I-5 and 205 to commute to Oregon side. Traffic is horrible during rush hours. Downtown Portland still has more to offer.