Great question! Costar.com published an article on September 26, 2019 attempting to use analytics to decode if the recent Oregon rent control has effected investor behavior in the multi-family sector. Since real estate has a relatively long sale cycle, it is probably difficult to gain a ton of usable information at this point, but I like how the author Emily Anderer summarized the chain of events in the Portland and Oregon market:
“Oregon passed the nation’s first statewide cap on apartment rent growth this past February. For all apartments at least 15 years old, annual rent growth is capped at 7% plus inflation. The law also regulates no-cause evictions, and landlords must pay tenants one month’s rent in relocation assistance if the tenants are evicted without cause.
The rent cap is not the only new multifamily regulation Portland landlords have faced in 2019.
In June, the Portland City Council approved the Fair Access in Renting, or FAIR, ordinance aimed at increasing housing access for apartment applicants who are often considered less-desirable by landlords, including applicants with low credit scores or a criminal history.
Then two months later, the Portland City Council approved an annual $60 per-unit fee for virtually every rental unit in the city, to support the Portland Housing Bureau’s new Renter Services Office.
Though FAIR and the $60 fee are less attention-grabbing than the statewide rent cap, both add to the increasing regulatory burden of Portland landlords.”
Conclusion: The article focuses on sales volume, which means that large, institutional deals (over 100 units) are the major factor in the author’s conclusions and data. The majority of deals annually are always out of state investors, so that is no surprise. My biggest takeaway from this article is that Oregon’s rent control is garnering national interest, and when you read the chain of events increasing the regulations on landlords one can surmise the road is going to get tougher for landlords.
The author did note the dramatic increase of purchases in Vancouver, Washington (which is not a surprise, but the increase of 366% is “a lot”)”
In March through August of 2019, apartment investment in Vancouver increased by 366% compared to 2018, from $42 million to $195 million invested.
Here is the article here:
Costar.com: “Six Months Post-Rent Cap, Are Investors Still Buying Oregon Apartments?”
