Food, clothing, and shelter are among the most basic of life’s necessities. Of the three, housing requires a much more significant financial investment over the course of one’s lifetime. That’s especially true for those who live in apartments and must pay rent. As costly as rent is right now, the housing market in Oregon is still booming. Oregon ranks in the top half when it comes to housing expenses by state, but people are still snatching up apartments left and right regardless of the price tags, and shortages are becoming more common than ever.

Portland at the Center of the Chaos
Rental units in Portland have sold like hotcakes for most of 2013, and it doesn’t seem that sales will slow down any time soon. In fact, it’s never been so hard to find an Apartment for a decent price than it is today. Occupancy rates have increased by a half-percent from April 2013 to October 2013 making the total percentage of unoccupied units drop to just about three percent, according to a survey that included nearly a thousand different properties and 72,000 units. Before the spike in apartment buying, 36 days was the average amount of time that a vacant unit sat on the market before being picked up by someone. On the inner east side, however, it only took an average ofeight days for an empty unit to be taken off the market.

Prices Jump in Response to Overwhelming Demand
In just half a year, people in the Portland area are paying nearly seven percent more than they did earlier on rent–even with the 5,000 higher-end units that were just erected during that time. Older and less desirable buildings are still filling up faster than expected, and their rents have gone up an average of 4.5 percent. Due to the demand, landlords are hoping that building new units to add on to the existing structures will bring in more business than ever.

Getting in on the Action
According to an experienced apartment appraiser with 30 years under his belt, the Oregon apartment market has never been stronger, there’s no better time for people to invest in and rent out property. It’s not just residential sales that are skyrocketing either. Commercial Real Estate in Oregon is also being snatched up as soon as it hits the market in many areas. Those who are interested in buying commercial properties for resale should contact a Commercial Real Estate Broker for assistance. Multifamily Housing in Eugene is also pretty hot right now, so get in touch with Rene’ Nelson, CCIM Multifamily expert for information on the  hottest locations and most desirable properties. Rene’ can be reached at (541) 912-6583 or [email protected].