Home Sales

This Sept. 13, 2011, photo shows a house for rent and for sale sign in front of a home in Portland.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

As a rapid run-up in home prices is beginning to slow, rents are higher than ever and rising fast, putting up more obstacles for renters who want to become homeowners.

The real estate website Zillow says the average home value in the Portland area climbed 4.7 percent over the past year, landing at $282,900 in April.

Rents, meanwhile, climbed 8.6 percent year-over-year, reaching an average of $1,614 a month. The increase was the sixth-highest among the 34 metro areas Zillow analyzed.

Rising rental costs might make homeownership more appealing to renters, but it might also hurt their ability to access it.

The higher rental costs make it more difficult to save for a down payment at a time when homeownership is in some ways more attainable than historically.

"There are tremendous incentives to get into homeownership these days: mortgage access is improving, interest rates are low, and home values remain below prior peaks," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist. "But it will be increasingly difficult for many renters to realize these benefits as this country's growing rental affordability crisis continues to worsen."

Across the country, Zillow says, the average home value is up 3 percent while the average rent is up 4 percent.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus