Portland's new apartments are super-tiny
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Newly built apartments in Portland are among the smallest in the nation — even tinier than those in New York City — according to a new analysis from RentCafe.
The big picture: The average size of new apartments in Portland has shrunk 11% over the last decade per the report, squeezing renters physically as soaring housing prices tighten their wallets.
- The average cost of monthly rent hangs around $1,700.
By the numbers: Apartments built between 2015 and 2024 in Portland are an average of 668 square feet — a decrease of 79 square feet compared with the previous 10 years.
- Rose City ranked No. 2 on the list of localities with the smallest abodes, between Seattle and Queens, the apartment-search website found.
- RentCafe looked at data from the 100 U.S. municipalities with the largest stocks of apartments.
The intrigue: In Portland, newer apartments may be small, but they're also a lot harder to come by.
- New apartment construction hit its lowest level since 2013 in the last quarter of 2024, with only roughly 4,400 units in production.
- Driving the decline are not only high interest rates and inflation, but also the city's inclusionary zoning rules, which have made some developers wary of investing here.
What we're watching: Gov. Tin Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson created a task force last month to streamline Portland's permitting and zoning processes with hopes to accelerate more market-rate construction to meet its ambitious housing goals by 2045.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with corrected data from RentCafe.