Portland homeowners are staying put the longest since 2000
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Portland homeowners are staying in their houses for the longest time in at least 25 years, largely thanks to their low mortgage rates, according to a report from ATTOM, an industry data provider.
Why it matters: That — along with still-high home prices and tight inventory — is keeping the housing market on ice.
Zoom in: Rose City sellers at the end of 2025 had owned their homes for an average of nearly 11 years — a record in data going back to early 2000, when the average was 4.7 years.
Zoom out: That far exceeds the national average of 8.6 years, though the trend line over the last 25 years is similar.
- Before selling late last year, homes in Barnstable, Massachusetts (14.1 years), Springfield, Massachusetts (13.5 years) and New Haven, Connecticut (13.4 years) saw the longest average ownership among metros with at least 200,000 residents.
- Provo, Utah (6.9 years), Crestview, Florida (7 years) and Oklahoma City (7.3 years) posted the shortest tenures.
What we're hearing: Homeowner tenure has increased steadily in almost every major metro area over the past two decades, according to ATTOM.
- The "trend is especially pronounced in coastal and Northeast metros, where tenure often exceeds a decade, while many Sun Belt and Midwest markets continue to see comparatively shorter ownership periods," CEO Rob Barber tells Axios.
What we're watching: Some golden handcuffs are starting to come loose.
- For the first time since 2020, the share of U.S. homeowners with mortgage rates of 6% or higher exceeds those with rates below 3%, a new Realtor.com analysis finds.