Published November 10, 2023

The story says rents decreased by 1.1 percent over the last year. Mine didn’t decrease at all. Mine has gone up twice in the last three calendar years. Living here is increasingly becoming unsustainable as unaffordable (for most people) luxury apartments and mixed-use development continue on pace to swallow up our waterfront and downtown and our views of Portland and the river.

So, to recap recent news here: Homelessness is such a problem that we have emergency measures in place. Also, there is ” a general disinterest among the unhoused population in getting help.” Oh, really? You mean the assistance nobody wants their tax dollars to go toward and that no one wants them to get without running a gauntlet of judgmental, shaming measures of their worth … you mean that assistance? I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to reach out for help.

Amid this homelessness crisis, we see that a 1.1 percent decrease in rents over one year and a bump to 4.4 percent of the units here being open will deter developers.

Aww, those poor developers.