Portland City Council Approves Plan to Incentivize Conversion of Vacant Office Buildings into Apartments

The Portland city council has approved a plan to convert vacant downtown office buildings into apartments in an effort to address the city's housing crisis. The two ordinances passed are intended to incentivize office building owners to convert their buildings into residential units. “Recognizing the enormous cost of office conversions, the City...

Oregon House Passes $200 Million Bipartisan Bill to Address Housing and Homelessness Crisis

The Oregon House of Representatives has passed a $200 million housing and homelessness bill with bipartisan support. The majority of the package, $130 million, fulfills Gov. Tina Kotek's request for immediate funding to begin addressing unsheltered homelessness in much of the state. The bill aims to address the state's housing crisis and...

Portland Ranks 4th for Average Tech Salaries & Salary Growth

The Portland area ranked fourth for average tech salaries and growth among industry hubs nationwide, according to the recently released Dice Tech Salary Report. Portland came in just behind Seattle, WA, with an average tech salary of $127,724. The Silicon Valley area led the country with a $144,962 average salary. Boston and Seattle were second...

Portland Business Taxes Have Increased 32% Since 2019

The Portland Business Alliance and Downtown Portland Clean and Safe released the "2023 State of the Economy" report with research from ECONorthwest in late February. The report found: !function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else...

Washington State Needs Over 1 Million Homes in Next 20 Years

The Washington State Department of Commerce today released its final housing needs projections, which show the state needs to add 1.1 million homes over the next 20 years, and more than half of them need to be affordable for residents at the lowest income levels. Based on census data and the Office of Financial Management’s population projections...

Bill Would Give Homeless, Low-Income Oregonians $1,000 Monthly Payment

Oregon legislators are considering a bill that would provide a $1,000 monthly stipend to homeless and low-income people. The People's Housing Assistance Fund Demonstration Program would allocate $25 million from the state's general fund that would be administered by the state's Department of Human Services to provide 12 monthly payments of $1,000...

Portland Apartments Shrank 19% Since 2012

Portland tied with Queens, New York for the smallest average apartment size in the country, according to nationwide apartment search website RentCafe. According to recent data, the average apartment size in Portland was 742 square feet in 2022 — a drop of 61 square feet (19%) over the last 10 years. The nationwide average dropped 54 square feet...

Hearing Tuesday 2/21 8:00 am on Raising Washington State Real Estate Excise Tax to Highest in America

POSSIBLE INCREASE IN REAL ESTATE EXCISE TAX The house local government committee will consider HB 1628 On Tuesday, February 21 at 10:30 am. The bill would increase the real estate excise tax from 3% to 4% on transactions of $5 million and above. Proponents claim it will only affect wealthy homeowners but as drafted would affect most multifamily...

Portland City Council Votes to Require New Residential and Mixed-Use Buildings to be EV-ready

Last week, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve the Electric Vehicle (EV) Ready Code Project, requiring new residential and mixed-use buildings with at least five units and onsite parking to have EV charging infrastructure, effective March 31, 2023. To comply, new buildings with six or fewer spaces will have to provide electric...

Downtown Portland Clean & Safe: 177,000 Used Needles Collected in 2022

In 2022, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe (DPCS) collected over 177,000 used needles from public spaces, cleaned more than 24,000 biohazards, and completed over 3,000 community member assist calls. The DPCS Enhanced Service District (ESD) began as an informal group of downtown property owners and managers in 1988 and was later formalized in city...

Washington Rental Owners! Support SB 5741 Voucher Program - Public Hearing Friday 2/17 10:30 AM

On Friday the State of Washington's House Local Government Committee considers SB 5741. This bill would create a housing gap voucher pilot program. Multifamily owners should consider this as a common sense housing crisis solution. The bill would is designed to provide support to low-income households and individuals who are struggling to afford...

Greater Portland, Inc.: 17 Reasons to Move Your Business to Portland

It's been a while since Portland was the darling of national headlines, so it's the perfect time for Greater Portland, Inc. (GPI)'s reminder of the metro area's biggest draws. GPI recently shared 17 reasons why businesses should move to Portland and take advantage of the many benefits it has to offer, from its robust economy, low unemployment...

February News Roundup: Rents Flat in January, Developers Optimistic

Yardi: Multifamily Housing Rents Flat in January, Developers Remain Optimistic The U.S. average asking rent was $1,701 in January 2023, unchanged from December. The creation of 517,000 new jobs in January is a significant bright spot and help ease fears of an imminent economic downturnLast year, U.S. multifamily rents increased by 6.4% after...

Business Journal: Vancouver Development to Ban Single Family Housing

A planned redevelopment of 179 acres of land sold by HP in Vancouver to Rabina and industrial firm New BluePrint Partners is coming more clearly into focus. The Portland Business Journal reports that the developers plan to create a work-live-play community with about 29 acres of open space. The developers recently announced they would ban...

Portland City Council Votes to Reduce Required Distance Between Safe Rest Villages & Residential, Industrial Areas

Last week, city commissioners voted for zoning changes in an effort to increase the efficacy of the Safe Rest Village program. While the shelters previously had to be located at least 25 feet from industrial or residential land, making it challenging to find appropriate locations, the council vote changes the required distance to five feet. “These...

Report: New Zoning Rules Could Increase Puget Sound Housing by 70% in the Coming Decade

A recent report from The Urban Institute found 70% of Seattle and Bellevue residential land is zoned for single-family use, and close to 90% of land in cities like Mercer Island and Lake Forest Park is zoned single-family. The paper outlines four recommendations for zoning changes near transit that would dramatically increase housing stock in the...

HFO Brokers Sale of 72-Unit Multifamily Community in Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (February 12, 2023) – HFO Investment Real Estate (HFO) is pleased to announce the sale of 72-unit Connery Place apartments for $11.5 million. The property was sold by a California family office and purchased by a local nonprofit. The property, built in 1977 in the highly desirable Montavilla neighborhood of Portland, offers renters...

Portland & Seattle Top List of Cities with Growing Populations of High-Income Renters

Portland ranked third on RentCafe.com's list of top cities with the biggest increases in high-income renter households. The city saw a 148% increase in high-income renter households from 2015 to 2020, according to the website's analysis of census and survey data via IPUMS, a part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the...

Eugene Leads the Way in Oregon with Ban on Natural Gas Appliances in New Homes

On Monday, Eugene became the first city in the state to ban the use of natural gas appliances in new homes. The ban is part of the city's efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Nearly 100 cities, counties, towns and even several states across the U.S. have adopted similar prohibitions. Newly built single-family...

New Multnomah County Chair Announces $14 Million Plan to Move Unsheltered Residents into Existing Private Housing

New Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson announced plans last Friday to rapidly move 300 people living in tents downtown into apartments. The county will pay private landlords who rent to program participants a year’s worth of rent and promise to provide services like mediation if tenant-landlord issues arise. Through the Housing Multnomah...

HFO Quote

Deep knowledge of the market and personal integrity of the brokers sets HFO apart for our family. As someone who spent 40 years in apartment brokerage, I believe HFO is far ahead of its nearest competitor.

Dean M., Fort Denaud, FL
HFO doesn't lead sellers into unrealistic expectations of pricing. They are exceptional and advocate for both buyers and sellers' interest.

Doug R., Reno, NV
Efficient and go-getters. Didn't wait for things to happen, they were active.

John P., Redmond, WA
Since 2006, HFO has consistently been recognized by CoStar as one of Portland Metro's PowerBrokers based on transaction volume. In March of 2021, HFO once again earned this distinction for the 2020 calendar year.

CoStar Group
Greg is great. I'm very happy with him, and the whole HFO team.

Leslie M., Pacific Palisades, CA
My experience with HFO was very, very positive.

Lecia K., San Francisco, CA
I am such a fan of HFO. HFO is night and day better than the firm we used before and I am 100% loyal to them.

Sue C., San Jose, CA
I have done 5-6 deals with HFO, and things have gone so well. I use HFO exclusively.

Greg W., Vancouver, WA
I like that HFO focuses solely on multifamily and does it really well. I like the blog and appreciate HFO-TV. HFO has the experience and focus to get me the best multifamily deal. I wouldn't use anyone else.

Kenny G., West Linn, OR
HFO is thoroughly professional.

Phil O., Oregon City, OR
Great experience over the years, and I will be using HFO in the future.

Joel M.
Every time I had a problem Todd took care of it. The level of service at HFO is excellent.

Paul H., Lake Oswego, OR
HFO is the best boutique real estate brokerage in Portland.

Max S., W. Hollywood, CA
We do a lot of transactions and sometimes when there is an issue a broker will tell us "it's not my problem." Lee got in there and really helped beyond what was necessary.

Matt K., Manhattan Beach, CA
True professionals with unparalleled degree of expertise in the Portland multifamily space.

Boyd W., Vancouver, WA
We had a wonderful experience with HFO - excellent on everything. They are very responsive. Greg did a great job.

Leonard G., Portland, OR
HFO is professional, knowledgeable and honest. They get it done.

Michael K., San Francisco, CA
My listing was in a smaller market and HFO did a great job of finding buyers. They also did an excellent job handling all the backroom financials and documents.

Lee S. Keizer, OR
There were many landmines in my transaction, and I am glad to have hired HFO because they handled it well. HFO is the only company my wife and I would recommend.

John E., Mesa, AZ
I have brokers calling me all the time. Greg Frick is the only one I’ve talked with who left me feeling smarter after the conversation. I’ve become a loyal client of HFO.

John E., Portland, OR
One of the best firms at seeing a deal from the owner's perspective.

Matt K., El Segundo, CA
For the eleventh year in a row, HFO Investment Real Estate is one of Portland's top philanthropic corporations. (2020)

The Portland Business Journal
Greg is great, friendly, interesting, timely in calls and checks in regularly. Honesty is #1 and Greg has that going for him.

John N., Portland, OR
I appreciated Adam’s responsiveness, experience, and knowledge.

Itzik S., Eugene, OR
HFO does a great job on the web and email keeping owners posted on the whole political scene.

Richard R., Palm Desert, CA
HFO is a very well run brokerage and goes above and beyond in providing information to investors. I really like their roundtables, market updates and podcasts.

Rachel S., Menlo Park, CA

Blog Posts

HFO Quote

Deep knowledge of the market and personal integrity of the brokers sets HFO apart for our family. As someone who spent 40 years in apartment brokerage, I believe HFO is far ahead of its nearest competitor.

HFO doesn't lead sellers into unrealistic expectations of pricing. They are exceptional and advocate for both buyers and sellers' interest.

Efficient and go-getters. Didn't wait for things to happen, they were active.

Since 2006, HFO has consistently been recognized by CoStar as one of Portland Metro's PowerBrokers based on transaction volume. In March of 2021, HFO once again earned this distinction for the 2020 calendar year.

Greg is great. I'm very happy with him, and the whole HFO team.

My experience with HFO was very, very positive.

I am such a fan of HFO. HFO is night and day better than the firm we used before and I am 100% loyal to them.

I have done 5-6 deals with HFO, and things have gone so well. I use HFO exclusively.

I like that HFO focuses solely on multifamily and does it really well. I like the blog and appreciate HFO-TV. HFO has the experience and focus to get me the best multifamily deal. I wouldn't use anyone else.

HFO is thoroughly professional.

Great experience over the years, and I will be using HFO in the future.

Every time I had a problem Todd took care of it. The level of service at HFO is excellent.

HFO is the best boutique real estate brokerage in Portland.

We do a lot of transactions and sometimes when there is an issue a broker will tell us "it's not my problem." Lee got in there and really helped beyond what was necessary.

True professionals with unparalleled degree of expertise in the Portland multifamily space.

We had a wonderful experience with HFO - excellent on everything. They are very responsive. Greg did a great job.

HFO is professional, knowledgeable and honest. They get it done.

My listing was in a smaller market and HFO did a great job of finding buyers. They also did an excellent job handling all the backroom financials and documents.

There were many landmines in my transaction, and I am glad to have hired HFO because they handled it well. HFO is the only company my wife and I would recommend.

I have brokers calling me all the time. Greg Frick is the only one I’ve talked with who left me feeling smarter after the conversation. I’ve become a loyal client of HFO.

One of the best firms at seeing a deal from the owner's perspective.

For the eleventh year in a row, HFO Investment Real Estate is one of Portland's top philanthropic corporations. (2020)

Greg is great, friendly, interesting, timely in calls and checks in regularly. Honesty is #1 and Greg has that going for him.

I appreciated Adam’s responsiveness, experience, and knowledge.

HFO does a great job on the web and email keeping owners posted on the whole political scene.

HFO is a very well run brokerage and goes above and beyond in providing information to investors. I really like their roundtables, market updates and podcasts.