Ten Reasons to Buy a Home in Portland

1. The Great, Wet Outdoors
If we had to sum up Portland’s outdoor recreation opportunities in one word, it would be “water.” Rainfall pretty much defines the Pacific Northwest, and with 40 inches a year in Portland there’s plenty of H2O to go around, even in our beautiful dry summer months. Locals enjoy waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge, Sturgeon Lake on nearby Sauvie Island, and of course the Willamette River running right through the middle of Portland, where plenty of public parks and greenways make it easy to relax along the water. The 5,000+ acre Forest Park is a popular place for urban runners, hikers, cyclists and equestrians to escape without leaving Portland city limits.

2. A Place Where Kids Thrive
If you’re buying a home in Portland because it looks like a great place to raise a family, you’re right. Portland kids get a great education with plenty of school choice options and a 7 out of 10 ranking for Portland School District from GreatSchools. In addition to the many natural attractions in and around Portland, kids have ample opportunity to play outside close to home because Portland neighborhoods average 1.8 parks every half-mile! (AARP Livability Index) Portland is also home to the state’s best family-friendly attractions, from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry to the Oregon Zoo and Portland Art Museum.

3. Your Social Calendar = Booked
Portland is a hub for community engagement. People get involved here, whether through politics, creative projects, their local schools, or just showing up to beautify a park or support the opening of a new local business. One great way to find out what’s going on in any given neighborhood — whether you already live there or are thinking about buying a home — is to check out the website of its Neighborhood Organization. Willamette Week is our local alternative newsweekly and its events listings cover everything from volunteer opportunities to adult summer camp.

4. Arts
According to the AARP’s Livability Index for Portland, the number of performing arts companies, museums, concert venues, sports stadiums, and movie theaters per capita in the city is more than double the US average. But you don’t have to actually go anywhere to experience Portland’s creative side — just walk around downtown or in your own neighborhood. People can’t seem to help but express themselves, whether through the unique Portland fashion scene, by busking or performing on the sidewalks, or throwing their passion into unique food and drink options. Which brings us to #5…

5. A Feast for Foodies
Portland’s restaurant scene is comparable to a city five times its size — thanks to thriving immigrant communities that provide ethnic food, and a populace more than happy to eat out and support the city’s hundreds of diners, cafes, gourmet restaurants and food carts. In fact, the food cart scene here is legendary! According to foodcartsportland.com, there were more than 450 in operation here as of the last count, some in organized “pods” that offer an outdoor food court experience, others just hanging out on random corners, parking lots and streets across the city. All are welcome respites for the hungry home shopper!

6. Green Convenient
Portland is a bonafide “green” city, a place where residents and governments make the extra effort to reduce the environmental impact of everything they do. Bicycle commuters abound, but those who don’t power their own ride can take advantage of public transportation options on par with much larger cities. According to the AARP’s Livability Index, Portlanders spend less on transportation than the average US household, but enjoy more frequent opportunities to take the train or bus. In other words, if you buy a home in outlying areas of Portland, you’re very likely to enjoy a convenient commute to downtown with a tiny carbon footprint.

7. Economic Opportunity
With strong economic roots in the Port of Portland, several institutions of higher learning, and the Silicon Forest, Portland has an unemployment rate below the national average and positive job growth in the last few years. In 2015, 35,600 new jobs were added in the Portland Metro area, according to Oregon Employment Department. In addition, Portland has a strong entrepreneurial culture and is a fertile area for new food and tech companies. Whether you’re moving to Portland to start a new career, finally launch that food truck or tech startup, we’ll help you find the right home base!

8. Portland is #2 Fiscally Fit City
Everyone remembers the crash of 2008/09, and nobody wants to repeat it! Apparently Portlanders are ahead of the curve in terms of protecting their personal financial health, at least according to the Fiscally Fit Cities Report by Sperling’s Best Places. Portland ranked #2 on the list of Fiscally Fit Cities across the US, just below Salt Lake City. One of the factors taken into consideration was the ratio of median home value to the median household income — which could mean that Portland home buyers tend not to buy homes wildly out of step with what they can afford. That’s healthy growth for the Portland housing market, and a strong argument for investing in a home here.

9. A Great Investment
It would be hard to pick a city with more potential for housing market growth than Portland. Just in the last year, home values grew over 11% — the highest year-over-year gain out of all 20 major US cities included in the Case-Schiller report. As we blogged about last month, Portland is set to become one of the top ten housing markets in the country in 2016. Inventory is low which means competition is high. While most home buyers set out to find the right home at the right price, it helps to know that no matter how much or little you spend, you’re likely to see that home value go up over the next few years.

10. Rent is Insane
Home prices are increasing right now, but amazingly rent prices are increasing much, much faster. I most parts of the city right now your mortgage payment would be significantly less than your monthly lease check.

Final tip: I love all the things that make Portland unique — our culture, our fantastic access to the outdoors, our food trucks — I also think it is fantastic that you can buy a home with the full representation of a fantastic real estate agent without paying them a dime! Most buyers agents in town accept the commission offered by the seller and do not charge their clients direct.