Report: Portland's popularity driving up rents

Zillow.com says Portland is only sixth on the list of metropolitan areas with highest share of renters who want to move to them.

A new report confirms the conventional wisdom that the number of additional people moving to Portland from other cities is driving up rent costs.

But the Zillow online rental service and research organization says Portland is only sixth on the list of metropolitan areas with the highest share of renters who want to move to them.

And the Oct. 27 report also says Portland rents are going up because relatively few renters here want to leave.

This influx of new renters is driving up Portlands rent prices, because not only do a lot of people want to move there  not many people are moving away, says Zillow.

The report found 29 percent of what it terms active renters in Portland are seeking to move here from another city. Thats a lot, but far below the 42.2 percent in Nashville, which tops the list.

The other cities above Portland are Raleigh (38.1 percent), San Jose (34 percent), San Francisco (30.9 percent), and Denver (29.8 percent)

At the opposite end of the spectrum San Jose also has the most renters seeking to leave, 37.5 percent. In Portland, just 18.3 percent of renters are looking to leave.

And the report found the average Portland rent increased 7 percent over the past year to $1,784.

To read the report, visit www.zillow.com/research/renter-resume-coming-going-13716/