A group called Greenlight Greater Portland, comprised of private-sector leaders dedicated to a sustainable and economic growth, has formed to analyze and communicate both the current and future conditions through 2013 of Portland, OR.  They have issued a report that shows some promise for our real estate market despite the endless bad news nationally.  Some highlights of the report are:
 
* Projected population growth for the Portland metropolitan area is 8.0% by 2013. Moreover, the workforce is projected to grow by 6.9%. The increase alone from Salem heading north to Vancouver, WA is expected to exceed 2 million people. That’s 50,000 more families for the Portland metropolitan area.
 
* From 2000 – 2008, population grew by 33.8%. 
 
* Six of the most 25 innovative companies in the world are located here (Business Week).
 
* Disposable personal income is almost $4,000 above the national average (over 10%).
 
* The 2008 GRP (Gross Regional Product) of $1trill increased by 33% since 2003 - more than 6 times the rate of population growth - and is expected to grow another 27% by 2013. This is highly indicative of economic health.
 
* Without citing the numerous sources, we’ve been named: Best place to retire, most dog friendly, 5th top fittest city, best biking city, best place to have a baby, best place to raise a family, city with top rated schools, city with the highest artist’s population, and the greenest city.  We are also high on the list for minority owned companies and free-lance workers, and have received numerous accolades for brewers and wine producers, and we are the 4th hottest spot for hi-tech workers!
 
* We have an unusually diverse economic sector, contributing to our relative economic health, which defies national trends. 
 
* The projected 5-year job growth index puts only LA, Seattle and Austin Texas ahead of us even though we are 26th on the list of large cities.
 
* We added 88,000 jobs from 2002-2007, which puts the unemployment rate and news of company closings in perspective.
 
* Projected economic business sectors to watch (each has only 1 or two cities ahead of it): Professional Services, Financial services, Informational services, Construction and Natural Resource Services.
 
* Portland has been called an “unusually desirable place to live” because of our transportation system which has been studied and copied by municipalities across the world, and due to our proximity to natural resources with the Pacific Ocean to the west and skiing opportunities to the east.
 
* Commercial real estate lease and purchase rates are lower than at least 6 other large cities as are residential rents and purchase prices.
 
* Some other things to be grateful for are the Urban Growth Boundary, which keeps our real estate desirable by leaving farm and rural areas free of development, and the fact that to date, we’ve always been able to come out of recessions. During the Great Depression, 50% of households in the nation were delinquent. Currently the rate is about 6.4%. However, during the Depression banks restructured loans to keep from foreclosing, a trend that seems to be slowly increasing currently.
 
 
This data gave me some hope and I hope it does you too. 
See http://www.greenlightgreaterportland.com/ for more information.
As always, I am available to assist you with all of your real estate needs.  You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or phyllis@pointclickandpack.com