February 04, 2021

In 2020, the homeownership rate rose to about 67 percent—a nearly 3 percent increase from the year before, following a decade of flat rates. The COVID-19 pandemic and remote work pushed many Americans who could afford single-family homes from cities to the suburbs. The rising demand and constrained supply have pushed the median home price nationwide to $346,800.

In a recent order, President Biden extended funding for Project Roomkey, a program that has housed thousands of people experiencing homelessness in hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new order increases the amount the Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse counties for the cost of hotel rooms from 75 percent to 100 percent. It also extends funding through September 30.

Democrats in Congress recently reintroduced the Raise the Wage Act to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. If passed, it would increase wages for about a fifth of workers and lift 1.3 million people out of poverty. Currently, most minimum wage workers would have to work two full-time jobs to afford the average one-bedroom apartment. Although the proposed minimum wage increase still is not enough to secure a typical two-bedroom apartment, proponents of the bill say it could expedite the economic recovery and improve of life for very low–income renters.

Income Property Management (IPM), an Oregon-based contractor for the state’s largest affordable housing provider, Home Forward, has gained a reputation as the Portland metropolitan area’s top evictor. IPM has filed 63 evictions since April—nearly three times the rate of other Home Forward managers. Tenant attorneys and advocates say the reason is likely that IPM, a for-profit company, does not have the same incentive to ensure housing stability. “They’re the worst I’ve seen,” said attorney Michael Fuller with law firm OlsenDaines.