Metro Region Housing Construction Still Falls Short of Its Needed Units

We fell short—again.

THE BIG NUMBER
By Nigel Jaquiss

On Feb. 19, the Portland Business Alliance released a new study of housing production in the region. The group's takeaway: Despite the frenzied production of new housing units in recent years, the region fell further behind as newcomers outstripped new supply.

The ratio of new homes, including apartments, built in the region, was 8.5 for every 10 new households from 2010 through 2018. In other words, we fell short.

"We needed to build 103,000 new units this decade to keep pace with population demand, but only built 79,500," concluded the consulting firm ECONorthwest, which crunched housing numbers for the PBA. "Despite historic economic expansion, our region has produced the fewest housing units over any 10-year period since World War II." The story nationally was different, as builders produced 11 new units for every 10 new households over the past decade.

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