Tigard and the Metro region, are experiencing a severe and ongoing housing crisis. Between 2007 and 2017, the region underbuilt housing by more than 27,000 units in the wake of the collapse of the mortgage industry.
The lack of housing supply is one factor in rapidly rising home prices and rent increases. The Metro region has seen home prices increase 15-20 percent in just one year, from 2020 to 2021. Rent increases have outpaced the rate of inflation in Tigard since at least 2015.
However, growth in the median household income in the region has been much slower than the growth in home prices, with an inflation-adjusted increase of just 21 percent over the period from 2004 to 2019.
In Tigard, 28% of residents are considered rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 50% of their income on rent. A city is considered severely rent burdened if more than 25% of the renter households are themselves severely rent burdened.
Consequences
While there have been many policies enacted both locally and region-wide to encourage development of more housing, the fact remains that the region has not been able to generate sufficient supply to meet the need. This housing crisis has many impacts, most importantly an increase in housing cost burden among residents, particularly households of color, marginalized communities, and seniors on fixed incomes.
Housing cost burden creates many other impacts for these affected communities. Households that must spend a higher proportion of their income on housing will have less resources to acquire other basic needs like food, health care, clothing, and education. In addition, cost burden for renters leads to lower rates of saving and less flexibility to contend with unexpected expenses, emergencies, or a loss of employment.
Cost burden and lack of access to affordable housing also lead directly to an increase in displacement. This means that renters and homeowners at the lowest income range are forced out of housing. Many of these displaced residents will become unhoused.
This ongoing housing instability in the region is occurring in the context of the impacts of decades of housing discrimination and inequity on communities of color. A recent report found that 81% of US cities over 200,000 are more segregated in 2019 than they were in 1990. It also found that incomes and home values in white neighborhoods were more than twice that in segregated communities of color, and that poverty rates in the latter are three times higher than in the former.
In light of the region’s current housing crisis, the city recently reviewed its affordable housing strategies and assessed how they have addressed changes in the local housing market and local housing needs.
The City of Tigard adopted an update to its Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) and Goal 10 Housing of the Tigard Comprehensive Plan on May 25, 2021.
Major findings of the HNA include the following:
- Nearly 60% of the City of Tigard’s current housing supply is single detached houses. The median price of these homes as of the 2018 American Community Survey was $375,000. While more recent data is not available from the Census Bureau, reported increases in home values would peg the new median as of 2021 well above $400,000.
- The city has a vacancy rate of 3.4% in homes for purchase and rent. This is exceptionally low compared to surrounding areas and the state.
- Tigard residents surveyed as part of the Housing Needs Analysis report that housing costs are too high, and there is a need for more housing diversity. Cost is identified as the number one barrier to obtaining appropriate housing.
- Since at least 2015, rent increases in Tigard have exceeded the core inflation rate. State economic data demonstrate that at the same time wage growth in lower-income households has lagged well behind that of middle- and high-income households.
- Over 7,400 additional housing units will be needed in Tigard over the next 20 years to accommodate the projected growth in population identified in the regional forecast. This equates to a need for over 340 new units per year over 20 years.
- The city currently has capacity in its buildable lands for only 4,200 units, leading to a shortfall of 3,200 units. The city will need to add sufficient land to build these 3,200 units in order to accommodate its anticipated population growth.
A full report, detailing each of those approaches and opportunities to improve local access to affordable housing, can be read here.
Tigard is Committed
Policies in the City of Tigard's Comprehensive Plan reflect the city's commitment to maintaining a variety of housing choices and to removing barriers to the development of affordable housing.
The city initiated a variety of voluntary actions to support and enhance opportunities for affordable housing. These are described in the City of Tigard Affordable Housing Program Report published in September 2002. These adopted policies, goals, strategies, and voluntary actions reflect the city's capacity and approach in meeting the affordable housing needs of the city.
