Why so many people are moving out of Portland.
We’ve had quite a year! The events that occurred over the last twelve months have led to what we’re calling a “mass migration,” and not just from Portland—many areas are experiencing exoduses and influxes. California and New York in particular are dealing with people leaving en masse.
I combed through the homes sold data over the last six months as well as for 2020, and it was pretty alarming to see the number of people moving out of the area. Some people weren’t happy with the political unrest, some were concerned with safety issues, and some were just tired of the expense of living in Portland.
The primary reason, however, has to do with the pandemic. COVID has changed the way people look at their living situations. Since many have begun to work remotely, they no longer feel compelled to stay in the area.
The ironic part of all this is that three to four years ago, Portland was the No. 1 area for people to move to according to U-Haul, which tracks where people move to and from. Sadly, events in recent years have many people concerned about where Portland is heading. For my part, I still love Portland and believe that it has so much to offer. To be fair, many people are still moving into Portland as well, so don’t fall prey to misconceptions that Portland will soon be a ghost town.
The bottom line is that COVID has changed the game for national real estate. There are practically no cities that can say they’ve gone unaffected by the growing popularity of working from home.
If you have questions about the mass migration from Portland or anything else to do with real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. In the meantime, stay tuned to my blog for part two of this discussion.
