According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it’s estimated that rents in Portland started to skyrocket 57% from 2010 to 2019, meaning it has grown twice as much compared to the national rate “median prices jumped from $838 to $1,312”. Also, a report from Oregon Community Foundation, ECONorthwest pointed to 2 crises that are troubling many communities across Oregon about the rising cost of rents which could put them at risk for homelessness. First, the rising rates of housing insecurity due to the limited supply of affordable housing has put 15,000 Oregon families at risk of homelessness. Secondly, the constant need for intensive social services and specialized housing for Oregon’s smaller homeless population that are growing more and more day by day.
In addition, it’s also reported that Oregon has been suffering from a disproportional homeless population compared to other states. According to the chart below, our population only consists about 1.3% of the national population, our homeless population takes up to 2.6% of the U.S. homeless population.
However, despite the plummet of cost in rents in 2020 during the pandemic, with most Oregonians being unemployed and laid-off from work, though, lower rents don’t generally just make housing more affordable as there are even more things residents have to worry about. In the end, it’s still good news for the high-risk of homelessness population but it remains a question whether urban rents will begin to “rebound” once the pandemic lessens. For more information about what ECONorthwest has to offer us about what we can and should do, visit the website to explore more solutions, https://oregoncf.org/.
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