The current Zillow city measures put Portland’s typical home value at $540,296 and typical observed monthly market rent at $1,721. Annualizing that rent against value produces a 3.8% gross yield before every operating cost. The value is 5.94x median household income, while annual Zillow rent is 22.7% of income. These citywide affordability screens frame revenue potential but do not establish financing, taxes, insurance, repairs, management, vacancy, or achievable property rent.
Portland has 307,719 housing units; 5.9% are vacant, and renters occupy 48.0% of occupied units. The citywide vacancy rate does not predict lease-up for a specific unit. ACS reports a $581,500 median home value and $1,655 median gross rent for surveyed occupied housing; gross rent includes contract rent and selected utilities. These ACS measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged or treated as competing quotes.
Among city renters, 52.5% meet the ACS rent-burden threshold, signaling constrained payment capacity rather than causation. Of all city housing, 57.4% is single-family and 23.5% is in large multifamily structures; these shares describe stock, not investable availability. Of vacant units, 44.1% were classified for rent, which still does not measure current market inventory or likely absorption. Population was 0.6% lower between the overlapping ACS vintages; the change is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $90,919, while poverty and unemployment rates are 12.7% and 5.8%, respectively. Together, these city facts cannot reveal tenant quality, collections, concessions, or property-level demand.
At the county scope, the reported property-tax rate is 0.85% in Clackamas County, 0.96% in Multnomah County, and 0.84% in Washington County; these are separate county contexts, not parcel bills or Portland city measures. In the broader Portland, OR metro, jobs were down 1.9% year over year, 36.1% of listings had price drops, and supply was 2.9 months, describing labor and resale conditions without measuring the city alone. Nationally, Freddie Mac’s thirty-year mortgage rate was 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than evidence of Portland demand.
The city record cannot identify a building’s legal rent, condition, unit mix, taxes, insurance, hazards, utilities, concessions, or expenses. Before underwriting, verify parcel county and jurisdiction, zoning, leases and arrears, trailing income and expenses, inspection findings, tax assessment, insurance quote, utility bills, comparable signed rents, downtime, financing terms, and reserves. Recalculate net operating income and debt coverage from property evidence, not city gross yield.