City of Portland Permits in CY 2021 Through May: 5+ MF Units Permitted Are Within 25 Units of 14 Year Average, But SF Permits are at 15 Year Low.

In my previous post of Oregon housing permit data HERE I referenced worksheets in the Excel workbook that focused on City of Portland data. 

I created a PDF HERE  (and embedded below) of one of those worksheets to highlight how CY 2021 through May compares to the prior CY permit counts through May for the prior 14 years. 

MF Permits, Good Surprise 

The 1,174 Multifamily units permitted through May are very close to their 14 year average, down only 5%. In particular, for MF permits with 5 or more units, the total of  1,175 units in 2021 is only 24 units/2% below the prior 14 year average of 1,151 units. 

SF Permits, Bad Surprise

The 146 SF units permitted through May are the lowest in the last 15 years, and 65 units/53% below the prior 14 year average of 311. 

Caveat: A reminder that the data being compared is NOT full calendar year data, but only data through May. The Excel workbook has monthly and calendar data so it is simple to compare the annual and monthly YTD data.  I will update the Excel workbook on occasion though the year, but not on a monthly basis. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.