Oregon’s economy has recovered handily from the 2007-2008 recession and is now in one of the longest economic expansions in modern history. This growth has brought new, high-paying jobs, new residents from across the country, and has put Oregon on the map as one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S.

However, this growth has put a strain on many types of infrastructure across the state — from freeways to parks to schools and, of course, to housing. The construction sector was nearly crippled in the housing market crash and lagged behind housing demand for several years. Residential housing construction starts have yet to return to their pre-recession peaks statewide. The result of this strong and sustained increase in demand for housing that outpaced supply has been rapid appreciation in annual home prices and rent, with prices increasing by double digits for several years straight. This has put a strain on households at many income levels but has been particularly hard-hitting for low-income households, which have fewer choices in where to live.

"Because Oregon has strong land-use policies governing growth management and protecting forestland and farmland, the state must make the best use of the land inside each growth boundary."

As cities and communities struggle to build more housing and accommodate those in precarious housing situations, many longtime and existing residents are feeling the strain. Challenges resulting from home price escalation, a frenetic sellers’ market, strong rent growth, rising application fees and increasing rates of homelessness are particularly acute in the I-5 corridor, from Portland to Medford. Rural areas and smaller towns in Oregon have their own housing struggles, particularly with attracting development of new housing and providing housing for low-income households.

Strong in-migration has caused many Oregon cities to grow more quickly than the national average over the past 10 years. Generational preferences and household demographics have changed as baby-boomers downsize and millennials form new households and upgrade from apartments to single-family homes. Preferences for both generations have shifted toward walkable, urban housing near transit and desirable amenities in high-opportunity areas. This increase in demand for housing occurred just as housing production began to recover both from the market crash and credit freeze that made lending and financing new construction risky and costly.

Although the recent and current imbalance in supply and demand was exacerbated by the 2008-2009 recession, this imbalance continues a longer trend that many housing markets throughout the state have felt for decades— restrictive local development and land-use policies that reflect opposition to high-density, affordable or multi-family housing developments in favor of low-density, single-family homes. Localized opposition in established single-family neighborhoods has prevented the addition of new units in high-opportunity areas. This has made housing increasingly less affordable to households earning less than the median income, while home values have risen for households who already own homes in these areas.

In many areas across the state, these limitations on new construction translate into economic pain for thousands of households: In 2016, 53% of all renter households were cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their incomes on housing;. More than 13,200 people were homeless across the state. Rapidly rising rents and home prices pushed many households to the outer edges of the Portland metro area. Traffic has worsened, with the Oregon Department of Transportation reporting that a 3% increase in population increased congestion in the Portland region by 13.6%, with daily vehicle hour of delays up 22.6% from 2013-2015.