Portland Oregon Rental Market Report – May 2020
Are you searching for information on the Portland Oregon Rental Market? As of May 2020, the rental market remains strong despite Coronavirus and other challenges that have hit this year.
In May 2020, the average rent for an apartment in Portland Oregon is $1,445 per month (Source: Rent Jungle), this is a decrease of 10.38% from May 2019 when the average rent for an apartment in the PDX area was $1,595.
One-bedroom units in the Portland area are currently renting for $1,335 per month, while two-bedroom units are renting for $1,448 per month.
Rents across the PDX area have gone down as a whole in 2020, this can be attributed mainly to statewide rent control, and new local housing ordinances, because the average rent in Portland has decreased by 8.5% or $135 per month over the last six months.
The Impact Of Coronavirus
As we approach the end of the statewide lock down, there’s no denying that Coronavirus has had an impact on the Portland Oregon Rental Market because a lockdown that was only expected to last for 14 days has now dragged on for over two months.
With many renters in the PDX area currently unemployed, there has been concern that tenants would be unable to continue paying their rents.
Thankfully, unemployment benefits and stimulus checks helped tenants pay their rents in April and May 2020, keeping most tenants current on their rent payments. For tenants who have been unable to pay their rents on time, owners, and tenants have been working together on payment arrangements to keep those tenants in their rental properties.
Besides affecting long term rentals in the Portland area, Coronavirus has also severely impacted the short-term market here. All short-term rental bookings dried up in March 2020, leaving most owners with their rentals sitting vacant.
Even if the Portland economy opens up in the coming weeks, it’s likely that the short-term rental market in Portland won’t recover for up to one year. This is why owners who have short term rentals should consider converting them into long term rental properties at least for the next six months to 1 year.
Demand Remains Strong In Portland Oregon Rental Market
Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has created, the good news is that demand for rental properties remains strong in the Portland area, and property managers like Rent Portland Homes – Professionals have been able to show properties during the lockdown.
With contactless technology like Rently.com, we can continue showing our owner clients rental properties to prospective tenants without having to communicate with tenants face to face.
A prospective tenant is qualified using Rently’s 6-layer security system so that we can have absolute confidence that the individual who is going to be touring one of our client’s properties is qualified to rent that property.
Self touring technology is catching on, and we’re likely going to see widespread adoption of services like Rently in the months and years to come even after the lockdown has been lifted and challenges from Coronavirus are over because more tenants like the ease and flexibility that this technology offers them.
Will More Be Done To Help Renters?
With the end of the lock down approaching, we may likely see more proposals in Oregon to cancel rent for those renters who were affected by Coronavirus.
As of May 2020, most landlords are standing against measures to provide tenants with rent relief because canceling rent does hurt landlords, especially those smaller landlords, who only have 2-3 properties and depend on the money that they get per door.
Sadly, other states, including California, continue to consider measures to protect renters, like a proposed 25% reduction in rents statewide (AB 828), so we will likely continue to see similar calls for rent relief or cancellation in the months to come.
Enough is being done already to help renters in Oregon. We hope that once the economy restarts in Oregon, and construction companies start going back to work, emphasis will be placed on creating more rental supply to keep up with demand for rentals in the state instead of measures to cancel or reduce rent.
Contact The Rent Portland Homes Professionals – Team!
To learn more about what’s happening in the Portland Oregon rental market, or to speak with us about our property management services, contact us today by calling (503) 447-7735 or click here to connect with us online.
