Can new-fangled mortgages finance Portland’s tiny-home boom?

Posted by Michael Andersen (News Editor) on April 8th, 2014 at 4:18 pm

Portland's enthusiasm for building small and tiny homes has been so abrupt, so unusual and so locally unique that the home mortgage industry hasn't figured out how to take advantage of it.

But people in both government and real estate who see accessory dwelling units as a boon for affordable density in bike-friendly, walkable parts of town are trying to help lenders catch up. And there are signs that it's working.

As we reported last month, Portlanders are responding to the surging demand for local housing by building and/or permitting hundreds of accessory dwelling units. One in 10 new homes in some inner north and Northeast neighborhoods is an ADU, a city specialist says.

This is the latest part of a story we've been covering here on BikePortland for years: the ways Portland can keep creating the proximity that makes biking pleasant not just to high-rise dwellers but to those who prefer freestanding homes.

Portlanders, city data show, have taken the problem into their own hands. And yards.

ADU permits per year east of the hills and west of I-205 are up 400% since 2009.
(Source: Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Real Estate Beat is made possible by real estate broker Lyudmila Leissler of Portlandia Home/Windermere Real Estate.