"In my opinion, Commissioner Fish is just wrong about how housing markets like Portland's work," Cortright emails. "All the parts of the the housing market are connected. If there isn't enough supply at the top end of the market, those people don't go away, they bid for other housing. Folks that would have gone to Fremont Place bid up other Pearl and NW Portland units, and probably bid up stuff on the close-in East Side as well, that pushes down vacancies and pushes up rents there. People that would have been in Sunnyside or Hosford or Sellwood or Kenton move further out. Eventually, that even shows up in the rents on older apartments in outer Southeast."