So just how much money do you need to buy a house in Portland? Housing affordability is a hot topic in today's market, and one of concern for area planners and agencies. In order to plan for the future, we need to understand current conditions and patterns. While researching 'comps' can give you a good idea of what houses are going for in the metro area, until you see it from a bird's eye view, it's hard to grasp just how much income shapes our region. To create this housing affordability map ECONorthwest utilized Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) data to create hexagonal bins representing the income level at which the observed average housing price is affordable. Affordability calculations are based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition of affordable housing, which states that affordable housing costs households 30% or less of their gross income.