Why are the rents so high when wages don't support it? (Portland: low income, transplants)

[PortlandRenter]

I've decided to move to another apt complex or, so I thought. My current apt complex wants to raise my rent $78 a month. I have been looking around and really can't find anything to much cheaper. Some place are totally ridiculous in what they are asking.

Why are the rents base on an hourly income of over $17 an hour? Are there deals to be had and where?


The homeless rate is increasing. I now understand why people are squatting in vacant houses. And, the wages are going down. I am seeing more and more transplants and they are supposed to have jobs or proof of income to move into this complex.

What am I missing?

[rzzz]

Maybe a better question is why do Americans put up with such low wages?

[urbanlife78]

Low vacancy rate in Portland apartments.

[EnricoV]

Rents aren't "based on income" .... The two have no relation to one another.

Prices are based on supply and demand. Supply is low, demand is high, so then are prices. If the price for somewhere is "totally ridiculous in what they are asking" that's somewhere you can't afford to live. No one said that you have to be able to afford everything. If you can't, get a roommate.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Rents aren't "based on income" .... The two have no relation to one another.

Prices are based on supply and demand. Supply is low, demand is high, so then are prices. If the price for somewhere is "totally ridiculous in what they are asking" that's somewhere you can't afford to live. No one said that you have to be able to afford everything. If you can't, get a roommate.

We have the same issue raging over on the Bend sub.

This is a supply and demand issue.

[Deezus]

Supply and demand basically. People keep moving to Portland--some have jobs already, some don't, but people are willing to take the risk--you add that on to a rental market of people who already live here, but aren't looking to buy(or can't buy right now)--and you have a tight rental situation. What also happened was that there was a lot of construction of condos(and condo conversions) right before the housing market dropped after the recession hit. Some of the new construction of condos turned into apartments after the crash, but a lot of other denser housing projects got delayed or cancelled. Only recently has there been a big increase in building new apartment complexes. So in Portland itself(where a lot of transplants want to move to) you have a tight rental and real estate market--especially in the popular areas. Though if you go out to the less trendy areas or out to some of the suburbs, you can still find relative bargains(at least compared to Portland itself). Though even that varies from suburb to suburb.

[Steve Pickering]

It's not the low pay jobs. It is the high pay jobs. $17.00 per hour is not even average. Portland has a lot of jobs over $30.00 an hour. Not so many for low skilled workers. As the higher paid workers put more demand for housing in the city, the cheap slums and low income housing is torn down because the space is needed for the better housing in demand for the space available.

What you need to be asking yourself is why you are not making $17.00 an hour.

$17/hr amounts to about 34k/year. That's really not a whole lot in a city.

You're probably looking at the outskirts and less desirable neighborhoods, unless you manage to claw your way into one of the income restricted buildings in the desirable areas, but that's obviously difficult as there are a lot more freeloaders than there are available units. When a place is charging 1/3 of the market rate for an apartment and forcing taxpayers to subsidize the rest, they obviously have no trouble filling those units quickly and the people who have managed to force everybody else to subsidize their lifestyle are obviously in no hurry to move out.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by JasonF

$17/hr amounts to about 34k/year. That's really not a whole lot in a city.

You're probably looking at the outskirts and less desirable neighborhoods, unless you manage to claw your way into one of the income restricted buildings in the desirable areas, but that's obviously difficult as there are a lot more freeloaders than there are available units. When a place is charging 1/3 of the market rate for an apartment and forcing taxpayers to subsidize the rest, they obviously have no trouble filling those units quickly and the people who have managed to force everybody else to subsidize their lifestyle are obviously in no hurry to move out.

A little harsh, but sadly true.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by PortlandRenter

...........Why are the rents base on an hourly income of over $17 an hour? ................

Rents aren't based upon wages. Rents are based partially upon supply and demand and partially upon what the landlord has to pay to buy the property and how much he has to pay in taxes, insurance and maintenance.

If you would like to do something nice for the poor, OP, buy a huge apartment complex and rent out the apartments for $100 a month to low income people. You will be very popular.

What? You can't afford to do that? Well, neither can any other landlord.