Current Real Estate Market Trends:

Average price per square foot for Portland OR was $185, a decrease of 2.6% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in Portland OR for Feb 10 to Apr 10 was $250,000 based on 2,193 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price decreased 3.2%, or $8,200, and the number of home sales increased 54.9%.

The average listing price for homes for sale in Portland OR was $398,493 for the week ending May 12, which represents an increase of 1%, or $4,082, compared to the prior week. Popular neighborhoods in Portland include Southwest Hills and Irvington, with average listing prices of $959,853 and $661,086.

History of Portland:

The largest city in Oregon and seat of Multnomah County, is located in the northwest part of the state on the Willamette River.

Lewis and Clark camped at the site of Portland in 1805 on their expedition across the continent. Portland was founded in 1845 and was almost called Boston after the city in Massachusetts. Founders Amos Lovejoy from Massachusetts and Francis Pettygrove from Maine flipped a coin to decide the name of the new town. Pettygrove won the toss and named the place Portland after his hometown. Portland was incorporated as a city in 1851.

In the 1850s Portland served as a supply base for the California gold rush, and it grew with the development of its salmon and lumber industries and the arrival of the railroad in 1883. The city continued to grow from 1879 to 1900 as a supply point for the Alaska gold rush and as the site of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905.

The port of Portland leads the West in grain exports and is among the top five auto-import centers in the United States.

Portland has a diverse economy with a broad base of manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and retail trade, regional government, and business services. Major manufacturing industries include machinery, electronics, metals, transportation equipment, and lumber and wood products. Technology is a thriving part of Portland’s economy, with over 1,700 high-tech companies located in the metropolitan area. Tourism is also important to Portland’s economy, drawing more than 7 million visitors annually.

Portland Chamber of Commerce