Justice
Portland's Disappearing Affordable Bungalow
Officials last year voted not to expand the region’s urban growth boundary. Combined with a hot housing market, homebuyers are being forced to adjust expectations.
Last year, after renting in Portland for more than two years, Hannah Risser-Sperry and her boyfriend Nick decided to buy a home.
Their eye was on Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood, a reviving but detached part of the city tucked 10 miles north of downtown where the Willamette River meets the Columbia. Their budget was $300,000, a number they thought would be fair for St. Johns—though they didn’t think so for long.