A recent article in Portland’s local daily newspaper highlights the increased demand for apartment rentals, as well as the rising rent rolls. According to local property managers, average rents in the Portland area have risen 8% in the past year. The average 2-bedroom, 1-bath apartment in the Portland metro area runs $743 a month, although there is a wide range of pricing from area to area (see chart below).

While most property managers plan on an 8% vacancy rate (average 1 month per year), recent vacancies are below 4% (even lower in the city core). And because new apartment development slowed during the recent housing downturn, new inventory will be slim until developers find the wherewithal to build again — meaning rents aren’t going down anytime soon.

Are these reasons to consider a purchase instead? Not if your job situation is tenuous, or you’re new to the area, or the responsibilities of owning aren’t your thing. But at some point, the trade-offs may be worth a second look.

Portland Apartment Rental Market

Data source: Metro Multifamily Housing Association, via The Oregonian Business section. Full coverage at Oregonlive.com.

Unfortunately, Fair Housing laws limit our ability to guide or ‘steer’ people into specific neighborhoods based on our opinion of  a neighborhood’s racial complexion, family-friendliness, safety, and other social factors. Often, we just point them to the raw data, where available, and let them come to their own conclusion.

Over the years, sites like PortlandMaps, Walkscore, and others have made this process a lot easier, through geomapping and other visualizations. For example, I love M Realty’s Walkscore heatmap view for searching in highly walkable neighborhoods.

But what if someone wants to know where Portland’s badass neighborhoods are?

I have little to no hipster in me, so I wouldn’t even know where to start. But a couple local dudes apparently do and have created the city’s first bad-assness index.

The factors:

• Public transportation availablity. Good.
• Property values. Yes.
• Bike access. Sure.
• Beer availability. Still with you.
• Coffee locations. Makes sense.
• Food cart proximity. I suppose…
• Pinball availability…um.
• Strip clubs…no comment.

Pull together the data, geocode it, and turn it into a heatmap, and voila — Portland’s badass neighborhoods (PDF).

Areas of town get ratings from from ‘Hella Badass’ to “Flannelville” to ‘Vancouverish’ at the low end (sorry my Clark Country friends). The Boise neighbhorhood gets top prize, followed closely by Goose Hollow and Oldtown/Chinatown. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shout out to Rick Turoczy at the Silicon Florist for the find. From Dillon Mahmoudi on Vimeo.

But perhaps the ol’ homestead is getting a little threadbare, or the kidlets are abandoning the nest. Maybe you’ve found a little bank-owned fixer. Now what?

You need some inspiration.

The Professional Remodelers Organization of Portland may provide just what you need on March 12 and 13, 2011 during their Portland Tour of Remodeled Homes. The tour offers an opportunity to roll through 15 actual remodels, meet the contractors, and get ideas about your own domicile. Tickets are $17.50 and you can spread your time over both Saturday and Sunday on those tickets.

Here, Steve Stolze of SLS Remodel and Construction talks about his redo of a typical ’80′s home:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The show is produced by the Homebuilder Association of Metropolitan Portland and tickets can be purchased here.

In short, it noted the typical stereotypical responses — outdoor life, food, music, beer, biking — you know, lifestyle stuff.

For jobs? Not so much.

From the NPR transcript:

Oregon economist Christian Kaylor says he can think of only one explanation for the migration into Portland: the quality of life.

Kaylor says wages there are sometimes 20 percent lower than in Seattle or San Francisco. But people keep coming. In fact, Portland’s appeal is part of why the city’s unemployment rate tends to be about a point higher than the national average.

“In recessions, Portland tends to see population growth, even as we lose jobs,” Kaylor says. “So one of the reasons we have that higher unemployment rate is because people do continue to move here even as jobs disappear.”

Foodcarts, rock bands, and brewpubs aside, perhaps these recent additions will someday find reasonable employment options and eventually fuel the housing market in years to come. I have worked with several that fit this mold, and I hope their careers can continue to support both their lifestyle and housing choices.

Full story and audio at NPR.

This gem, Twice Charmed by Portland Oregon, however, was written by local author Katherine Dunn (Geek Love) for the Smithsonian Magazine. Dunn moved here as a teen and re-emigrated to Portland later in her life.

Yes, it’s a little sentimental, but saccharine-free.

Portland’s population has mush­roomed since I was a kid. The perpetual tug of war between preserving and modernizing saws back and forth. Urban renewal ripped out communities and poured in glass, steel and concrete, but some of the replacements are wonderful. The town is better-humored now, more easygoing. That feel of the old hobnobbing with the new is more amiable. Of course the blood and bones of the place never change—the river, the hills, the trees and the rain.

To stay on the cutting edge of Portland’s urban farming scene, you’ll need to trade in your chicken coop for pygmy goats, according to the latest Willamette Week.

Here are 14 people (including one of my current clients, very cool) and trends to follow in 2010.

(Photo courtesy of Monterey Bay Equestrian Center.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For a little more on how Portland compares to other U.S. cities for precipitation, read here.

My small post about the auction scheduled for September 21 for the South Waterfront’s Atwater condo project attracted a fair amount of traffic, so I thought I would update it. I visited the property a few weeks ago for some first-hand assessment. Buyer traffic through the units was brisk. I don’t know if that translates to big participation at the auction or not.

Forty units of various size are slated for the auction. If all 40 were to sell, then the building would basically only be 1/2 sold out. Perhaps the marketing company will put together another auction if this auction is successful.

So, a little Q and A:

How does someone participate in the auction?
You must register and get pre-qualified to participate in Sunday’s auction by 7 pm on Friday, September 18. You can visit the condos between 11 am and 7 pm each day through Friday. If you want your own agent representative to guide you through the process, they must accompany you at the first visit to the property and register themselves.

What are the general contract terms?

The sales contract does not offer much in the way of protections for buyers. You cannot use a property inspection as a contingency for purchase. You cannot use a typical financing contingency. In other words, you will likely lose your earnest money deposit if you fail to close the transaction.

All the purchase paperwork and disclosures are available in advance from the marketing company (registration required), so you won’t be surprised at the signing table. You must close your purchase on or before October 19, 2009. They are offering a $2,500 incentive to close the transaction before October 5.

What is the auction format?
It is a live auction. Open bid amounts start at about 1/2 of the original list price, with increments controlled by the auctioneer. There is no published, pre-determined order to how the units that will be auctioned. You should likely have a back-up unit in mind in case your first choice is gone. If you like to see how the auction will be operated, you can go to a ‘mock auction’ at 6 pm on Saturday at the Marriott.

You must bring a cash equivalent (check or money order) for $2,500 to the auction. If you have a winning bid, you will immediately go to a separate room to sign an official contract and deposit 3% of the sale price with Ticor Title as earnest money.

How much are the HOA fees?
The homeowner association fees are equivalent to $0.303 per square foot, or $484.49 per month on a 1,594 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit for example. The HOA fees cover water, sewer, and garbage for utilities, plus management, maintenance of all common areas, insurance, etc.

Is financing available?
If you need a mortgage, you must be pre-qualified through the Atwater’s two preferred lenders, Bank of America or MetLife. These lenders are offering $1,500 credit toward your closing costs. You’ll have 5 days to complete the loan application process after your winning bid. You can arrange your own financing, but I doubt outside conventional lenders will loan on this project. If you’re paying cash you must show proof of funds.

What about the property?
The units are very nice, comparable to the Meriwether and much of what is in the Pearl District–appointed with granite counters, nice appliances, etc. The high-end units (what I saw anyway) were fine, but I felt the Meriwether had better views (at least in the East building). There’s very little in the way common area space (i.e. no workout room), but there is a mid-sized community room in the foyer. Some extra storage in the basement may also be available for an extra fee.

What is the parking situation?
Each unit has a deeded, secure parking spot. Two bedroom units get 2 spots.

KOIN recently did a piece on the auction:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Photo courtesy of Excell Marketing Group.

Metro’s vision of how the Portland area will accommodate a million more people during the next 20 years emerged Tuesday: Pack them in.

How? Through redevelopment of old buildings and once-polluted industrial sites. By infill and increased density within existing city centers. By building up, not out. With a tight hold on the urban growth boundary and less reliance on cars. With smarter spending on the pipes, streets, wires and other public facilities that make life go.

That’s the viewpoint of the Metro’s chief operating officer, according to this article in the Oregonian.

Portland is famous nationally for it’s stand on limiting sprawl through the use of an Urban Growth Boundary. Metro reports that although 20,000 acres have been added to the UGB in recent years, that 95% of housing has been built inside the original UGB defined in 1979.

If the region makes wise land-use, infrastructure and transportation choices, the current UGB holds enough land to handle nearly all of the population and job growth projected by 2030, according to Metro’s projections, he concluded.

Not everyone agrees. What do you think?