Tag: Affordable Housing Portland

Portland Real Estate Appraisal Brief – Sunday, December 21, 2025: Barbur Apartments Groundbreaking Highlights Plottage Value

$79M Barbur Apartments groundbreaking in SW Portland, with $27M from the city, illustrates plottage as parcel assemblage enables 150-unit affordable housing in a market area averaging $691,000 for ownership.

Street signs at SW Capitol Hill Rd and SW Barbur Blvd marking the location of the Barbur Apartments affordable housing development in Portland.
The Barbur Apartments site sits at the prominent intersection of SW Barbur Blvd and SW Capitol Hill Rd.
Photo: Portland Appraisal Blog

Barbur Apartments Groundbreaking

Groundbreaking began in mid-December 2025 on the Barbur Apartments, a 150-unit affordable family housing project at the corner of SW Barbur Blvd and SW Capitol Hill Rd in Portland’s Hillsdale/Multnomah Village area.

Developed by Innovative Housing, Inc., the complex will have one three-story building and two four-story buildings, bringing the total unit count to 150. With one unit reserved for an onsite manager, 149 units will be income-restricted, with many configured as larger two- to four-bedroom layouts for immigrant and refugee families—alongside amenities such as a courtyard and community spaces. Completion is anticipated in Fall 2027.

The project has an estimated total development cost of approximately $79.4 million, with the Portland Housing Bureau contributing about $27.3 million alongside regional Metro Housing Bond funds, federal sources, and Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund dollars for energy efficiency.

The project emphasizes transit access along the Barbur corridor. Approved plans include approximately 45 on-site parking spaces—a low ratio of roughly 0.3 spaces per unit that reflects the transit-oriented design.

Appraisal Implications: Plottage and Highest-and-Best-Use Shift

The site’s redevelopment offers a clear illustration of plottage—the added value created when contiguous parcels are assembled into a larger, more viable development parcel.

Four separate tax lots totaling approximately 2.19 acres were acquired together in February 2025 for just under $6 million. Individually, the parcels supported lower-intensity uses limited by size, zoning, and existing improvements.

Annotated Portland Maps aerial showing four assembled tax lots for Barbur Apartments affordable housing project in SW Portland, with labels for demolished home, former commercial building, and nearby Safeway.
Aerial view of the Barbur Apartments site from Portland Maps, showing the four assembled tax lots (outlined in red, totaling approximately 2.19 acres). Labels highlight the demolished single-family home parcel, the former Barbur Blvd Rentals commercial building, and the Safeway shopping center across the street.
Image: Portland Maps

One parcel previously contained a 1927-built single-family home of approximately 2,336 square feet. Never listed on the open market, the house exhibited functional obsolescence relative to the corridor’s evolving highest and best use and was rapidly demolished.

Cleared and fenced parcel at Barbur Apartments site in SW Portland after demolition of 1927-built single-family home.
View of one of the assembled parcels in December 2025. The 1927-built single-family home that once stood here has been fully demolished, illustrating its functional obsolescence as the site shifts to higher-density residential use.
Photo: Portland Appraisal Blog

An adjacent commercial strip—formerly Barbur Blvd Rentals—remains standing but is now fenced within the secured construction zone.

The former Barbur Blvd Rentals commercial building, still standing as of December 2025, forms part of the assemblage.
Photo: Portland Appraisal Blog

Combined, these parcels unlock a scale and density that individual lots could not support, demonstrating classic plottage principles in a transit-oriented location.

Directly across Barbur Blvd, there is a large Safeway complex.

Safeway grocery store and shopping center across SW Barbur Blvd from the Barbur Apartments development in Portland.
The Safeway shopping center opposite the Barbur Apartments site—a major convenience for future residents.
Photo: Portland Appraisal Blog

This Safeway has an impressive open-access parking garage underneath the store. The center’s covered and surface parking serves as a major existing amenity. Given the Barbur Apartments’ family-oriented unit mix and limited on-site stalls, residents and guests may increasingly rely on this convenient private lot for overflow. A recent visit to the garage mid-morning showed a nearly full garage. It’s possible daytime use of the garage may skyrocket once the apartment complex is built—a dynamic worth monitoring as occupancy begins in 2027.

Busy ground-level covered parking under Safeway across from Barbur Apartments site in SW Portland on a typical weekday morning.
Ground-level covered parking beneath the Safeway store, photographed on a Friday morning in December 2025. With only about 45 on-site stalls planned for the 150-unit project, this existing private amenity may see increased use by residents and guests for overflow parking.
Photo: Portland Appraisal Blog

Market Context

In the immediate Hillsdale and Multnomah Village neighborhoods, closed sales from 2024–2025 reflect sustained demand amid limited affordability.

Type# of SalesAvg Close PriceAvg PPSFAvg Total SFAvg CDOM
Detached351$750k$3422,31350 days
Condo78$445k$3211,38268 days
Attached13$581k$3281,84649 days
Total442$691k$3382,13553 days
Source: RMLS closed sales data for Hillsdale and Multnomah Village neighborhoods, 2024–2025. Figures rounded for readability.
Data: RMLS | Portland Appraisal Blog

Detached homes dominated activity with 351 sales at an average of $750,000 and brisk 50-day market times. Condominiums—the most accessible ownership segment by volume—averaged $445,000 across 78 sales, though with noticeably longer absorption (68 days CDOM). While attached homes (such as townhomes) represent a small segment of the market with only 13 transactions, they averaged $581,000—likely reflecting more recent construction (average year built 2010) and associated premiums.

These figures across all segments highlight significant ownership barriers in the submarket, reinforcing the role of regulated rental projects like Barbur Apartments for lower-income and larger families.

This assemblage aligns with broader efforts to expand housing supply through density and public investment, including recent regulatory reforms aimed at reviving Portland development.

Sources & Further Reading

Thanks for reading—I hope you found a useful insight or an unexpected nugget along the way. If you enjoyed the post, please consider subscribing for future updates.

CODA

Are you an agent in Portland who wonders why appraisers always do “x”?

A homeowner with questions about appraiser methodology?

If so, feel free to reach out—I enjoy connecting with market participants across Portland and the surrounding counties, and am always happy to help where I can.

And if you’re in need of appraisal services in Portland or anywhere in the Portland Region, we’d be glad to assist.

Portland Real Estate Appraisal Brief – Sunday, December 14, 2025: Julia West House Supportive Housing Tower Opens

Julia West House, a 12-story mass timber tower in downtown Portland, opens with 90 units (89 regulated) of supportive housing for seniors amid ongoing regional affordability challenges.

Full-height view of Julia West House, a 12-story mass-timber building in downtown Portland, Oregon, showing the light brick facade with protruding window surrounds, orange accents, and the building name on the lower canopy, under a clear blue sky.
Julia West House, Oregon’s tallest mass-timber affordable senior housing building, viewed from the street corner in downtown Portland.
580 SW 13th Ave, Portland, Oregon – December 2025
Photo: Abdur Abdul-Malik, Certified Residential Appraiser

Julia West House Opens in Downtown Portland

The Julia West House, a 12-story mass timber apartment tower in downtown Portland’s West End, officially opened in late 2025, delivering 90 units of permanent supportive housing targeted at formerly unhoused seniors. Located at 580 SW 13th Avenue on a former surface parking lot owned by First Presbyterian Church—the site of a historic home previously used for church programs—the project provides 90 total units: 89 regulated affordable units (60 studios and 30 one-bedrooms) reserved for individuals earning 30% or less of area median income, with the remaining unit serving as an unrestricted on-site manager apartment.

The tower retains the name Julia West House in honor of Julia West Lindsley, wife of the church’s first pastor, continuing a legacy of community service at the address. Situated directly across SW 13th Avenue from the Sam Galbreath Alder House—a renovated income-restricted single-room occupancy building also offering supportive services—the location creates a concentrated hub for permanent supportive housing in the West End. This focus addresses a critical segment of need: nearly a quarter of Portland’s unhoused population is age 55 or older, with BIPOC communities disproportionately represented.

Before-and-during views of the Julia West House site at 580 SW 13th Avenue in downtown Portland: pre-demolition historic structure (2023, top) and cleared construction site (2024, bottom)
Before-and-during views of the Julia West House site at 580 SW 13th Avenue in downtown Portland: pre-demolition historic structure (2023, top) and cleared site (2024, bottom)
Image: Google Street View (composite screenshot)

On-site wraparound services, delivered by Northwest Pilot Project, Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, and Community for Positive Aging, include case management, health support, and programs to promote aging in place and housing stability. As Oregon’s tallest mass timber residential structure at 145 feet, the building utilizes cross-laminated timber floors and glulam beams above a concrete podium, enabled by Type IV-B heavy timber provisions. This construction method reduced embodied carbon, shortened the schedule by approximately 14 weeks, and incorporates biophilic and trauma-informed design elements—such as exposed wood ceilings—for resident well-being.

Financing combined public and private sources, including 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and contributions from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, demonstrating a viable model for deeply affordable urban infill.

Low-angle view of the Julia West House, a tall building with light-colored brick exterior and grid-patterned windows, showcasing its modern architectural design and prominent entrance signage.
The Julia West House, a modern multistory building in downtown Portland, stands tall with its grid of windows and light brick facade—captured from a low angle that emphasizes its architectural presence.
580 SW 13th Ave, Portland, Oregon – December 2025
Photo: Abdur Abdul-Malik, Certified Residential Appraiser

Appraisal Implications

Residential Properties

Developments like Julia West House expand the supply of deeply affordable and supportive rental housing in the Portland metro area, where single-family inventory remains limited. These projects provide market evidence of ongoing efforts to address affordability and homelessness in central locations with strong transit access, informing highest and best use considerations for nearby properties and enhancing neighborhood marketability.

Multifamily Properties

Mass timber construction in high-density supportive projects sets emerging precedents for sustainable building practices, potentially affecting future replacement costs, capitalization rates, and development feasibility in urban zones. Restricted affordable units, supported by Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and similar programs, require appraisers to carefully isolate restricted interests from fee simple value. While challenges persist—as illustrated by the 1,863 vacant regulated units reported earlier this week—successful openings like Julia West House highlight effective delivery models for mission-driven housing with integrated services.

Market Context

Q3 2025 median prices for detached single-family homes stood at $600,000 regionally and $555,000 in Multnomah County, reinforcing the ongoing need for affordable alternatives beyond the for-sale market. Purpose-built supportive housing adds targeted supply that supports broader regional stability without directly competing in the single-family segment.

Sources & Further Reading

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Thanks for reading—I hope you found a useful insight or an unexpected nugget along the way. If you enjoyed the post, please consider subscribing for future updates.

CODA

Are you an agent in Portland and wonder why appraisers always do “x”?

A homeowner with questions about appraiser methodology?

If so, feel free to reach out—I enjoy connecting with market participants across Portland and the surrounding counties, and am always happy to help where I can.

And if you’re in need of appraisal services in Portland or anywhere in the Portland Region, we’d be glad to assist.