Shhh, Don't Share This News About Portland

An analysis by a housing group reveals that rents in Portland are quite affordable compared to many metropolitan areas.

"According to the Metro Multifamily Housing Association, which represents residential property-managers, the average rental price for a studio in the Southeast section is $525, while a two-bedroom apartment leases for $724. In the Northwest area, which includes the trendy Pearl District, studio rentals average $571 and two-bedrooms cost about $971."

"Buying options are comparatively affordable, as well. While the rest of the country has seen housing prices boom and now fall, Portland has remained reasonably stable.

According to the Regional Multiple Listings Service for Oregon, the average sale price for a condominium in September was $257,200, up from $246,800 in 2006. The median price of a single-family detached home was $308,003, compared with $380,200 in the Seattle-Tacoma area, $595,200 in San Diego and $748,100 in the San Francisco Bay area, according to Portland State University's Center for Real Estate."

"As the housing markets in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle remain high, Portland has become one of the few affordable urban options on the West Coast. Couple that with its natural beauty, its activist personality and its creative sensibility and the appeal is clear.

"It's very common that someone will visit a friend," Mr. Rapaport, a downtown developer said, "and then they're moving here three months later."

Thanks to Martin Dreiling