Biz Journal: "Condo shortage coming"
Here's some comedy to start your week. An article in Friday's Portland Business Journal tells the story of Portland's condo market, which is as dead as a doornail. But no real estate article in a Portland publication would ever be complete without a sunny veneer, no matter how delusional. "Now's the perfect time to start a condo tower project, because you never know, some day soon the current glut could become a shortage. A million more people are going to be moving to Portland next week."
Uh huh.
| Posted at 8:32 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
"Now's the perfect time to start a biotech cluster, because you never know, some day soon bitoech research will be providing family wage jobs for many of the million more people are going to be moving to Portland next week."
At least that's what Neil told me.
Posted by Keter Pohler | June 2, 2008 9:33 AM
On Outlook Portland yesterday morning, PDC's economic development director, Erin Flynn, didn't even mention biotech. Instead, all the talk was about attracting sustainable-sector jobs, whatever that means.
Posted by Jim | June 2, 2008 9:47 AM
What they meant to say was Condo developer shortage coming.
Posted by Samuel John Klein | June 2, 2008 10:02 AM
A million people with more money than brains could move to Portland next week and buy up all of those unsold condos. Suuuuure they will. To quote Doonesbury from back when it was funny, "I believe Jesus is coming back, too, but I ain't staying up nights."
Posted by Sid | June 2, 2008 10:42 AM
Why do these nuts think they can choose the winners? Why pick someone to "attract"? Just lower the taxes and keep the place maintained and we are attractive enough to companies seeking PROFIT. Aren't those the best kind?
Posted by John | June 2, 2008 1:09 PM
Interesting - especially since the Business Journal is run by the same people that own the BOREGONIAN. Just trying hard to pump up those vanishing real estate ads that are mostly going online.
Posted by Dave A. | June 2, 2008 3:32 PM
The actual facts in the story paint a different picture than the story-line: A totally dead market at present, a 2-3 year supply of unsold units even when you use their optimistic sales projections of 800-900 per year, and a significant number of units that have undergone apartment conversions and are not counted in these totals, that will likely convert back to condos when signs indicate that things are turning back up.
But who are we to judge? Maybe there is someone out there right now ready to start the next high-rise project, a foolish bank to back him, and city politicians ready to step in with public subsidies. We already have heard noises that the epicenter of the area to be targeted will be the old CF property in NW, around NW 19th / Quimby.
Stranger things have happened.
Posted by john rettig | June 3, 2008 12:00 AM
Did you see the Portland Spaces graphic regarding the condo market in the May/June issue? PS gave me permission to post the page that it appeared on in its entirety at: http://www.portlandrealestateblog.com/realestate/2008/05/portland-spaces.html. Men's Health just named Portland their best place to live (the article is not online and they declined to give me permission to use it).
There are so many views as to where the market is going. We're never going to be able to say the market is at the bottom "right now" but we will be able to look back and say where the market bottomed out. As a Realtor, we see lots of people buying now for different reasons. "Now is a great time to buy," FOR SOME PEOPLE. It may get better for others. Stay away from the universal "buy now" Realtors. If I was a developer sitting on plans to build condos, I think I would continue to sit on them.
Posted by Charles Turner | June 4, 2008 7:06 AM