Portland Suburb Reports

We write regular reports on each Portland suburb’s real estate market including current performance and forecasts, as well as informational posts.

5 Best Cities (Not Suburbs) Near Portland – 2019 Update

November 5, 2019

Aren’t all suburbs cities? No! Driving around Portland’s metro area, it can be difficult to tell where one city ends and other begins. What some home buyers don’t realize is that some suburbs of Portland aren’t even cities at all. Should that matter to home buyers? We think so! Governance has a huge impact on quality of life and will impact your real estate investment down the road. City governments are local and tend to have better responsiveness for their citizens. Taxes collected locally will go directly back into the community.  Of course, that doesn’t mean you should avoid buying a home in an unincorporated community, but there are some things to be aware of. Unincorporated communities (also known as...

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Troutdale, Oregon

October 25, 2019

Located 12 miles east of Portland, at the confluence of the mighty Columbia river and its major tributary, the Sandy River, the city of Troutdale is known as the Gateway to the Gorge. You can bet that Troutdale is a tourism hotspot — but many Portland home buyers overlook it as a place to settle down.  They’re missing out. Here are five reasons why Troutdale is worth exploring for your real estate investment.  1. Troutdale is named for a fish for a reason. Dales of trout. Sea captain John Harlow bought the original land claim in the Troutdale area in 1872, and built an expansive estate. Ponds forming in the dales of his land held abundant populations of native trout...

New Max Line for Tigard, SW Portland Coming 2027.

May 20, 2019

Getting to the West Hills and suburbs southwest of Portland is going to be easier in a few years, thanks to a new MAX light rail line. The line will transform what’s known as the Southwest Corridor — Barbur Boulevard/Highway 99W going out to the cities of Tigard and Tualatin — with commercial development. And, if a coalition of Portland and Tigard planners get their way, there’ll be new housing to go along with it. Massive New Max Line The twelve-mile, yet-to-be-color-coded Southwest Corridor extension of the MAX system will be the longest line built since the completion of the Blue line in 1998. If all goes according to plan, the line will open in 2027 for a price tag...

Top 5 Most Affordable Portland Suburbs – 2019 Update

May 13, 2019

Affordability is a hot topic in Portland, a city with limited area and seemingly unlimited population growth. While the city struggles to keep up by building apartments, condos, and accessory dwelling units (read our article on the state of construction in Portland here), the suburbs are booming.  Why move to a Portland suburb? The tradition of moving to the suburbs from inner Portland dates back to the 1890s. Portland residents in need of more space flocked to early suburbs like Hawthorne, Irvington, and Mount Tabor (yes those were suburbs at one time) conveniently connected to the city via streetcar. Today, Portland suburbs extend south into the Willamette Valley approaching Salem, far west into Yamhill County, and far east to Corbett,...

10 Things You Didn’t Know About West Linn, Oregon

March 22, 2019

Among Portland, Oregon suburbs, West Linn is not the flashiest. It’s not known for its shopping malls or tech companies. Well south of the Portland hubbub along the Willamette River, it features quiet neighborhoods, plenty of parks and great schools (not to forget a few excellent shops and restaurants). Here are ten other things you might not know about West Linn: It’s one of the oldest American settlements in Oregon. Settlers first occupied the area beginning in the 1840s, finding the ease of access to the waterfalls on the river irresistible for industry. They built lumber and flour mills and ran a ferry across the water to Oregon City. The Willamette Locks were built in 1868 to provide commercial shipping...

Take a Look at Tualatin, Portland’s Hottest Suburb

February 17, 2017

According to the Oregon Historical Society, the name of the city of Tualatin, Oregon comes from an Atfalati (the region’s Native American tribe) word meaning “lazy” or “sluggish”. No offense! That word was meant to describe the Tualatin River, which flows along the northern boundary of the city. It certainly could not be applied to the real estate market in this booming Portland suburb! According to reports recently released by the major moving van companies, Tualatin is one of the fastest growing medium-sized cities in the country. And with a proposed new light rail project offering the possibility of quick and convenient transportation to downtown Portland, real estate here is just going to get more attractive. Tualatin, Oregon Facts Many...