At 61%, mortgage growth outpaces wage growth

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation,

If it feels like Portland homeowners are struggling to keep up with mortgage payments lately, it’s true, as seen by an analysis by Zoocasa. The real estate company compared the growth in income in different cities from May 2018 to May 2023 to the increase in mortgage payments during that same time period. The numbers show Portland with a median income in 2018 of $43,420, while five years later, that number had increased nearly 29 percent to $55,940. But mortgage costs grew at twice that rate—61 percent—jumping from $1,629 in 2018 to $2,624 in 2023, an increase of more than $1,000 a month.

Portland needs higher wages, but can’t achieve that as Portland-area saw five major tax increases in the past seven years, making Portland one of the most highest taxed areas in America.