Where Portland's Wealthy Shop For Homes
Follow the money! Figuring out where Portland’s wealthy shop for homes provides an indication of which areas continue to attract top dollar – even as the market cools off. In the last three months, the leading 20 zip codes saw roughly 450 homes in the >$500k category change hands, with the top 5 zip codes accounting for more than 50%.
Overall, expensive homes in Portland tend to cluster near each other. Owners of high-end housing typically want to live fairly close to their jobs, which either means locating within a reasonable commute of downtown or major suburban office districts and transit corridors such as Kruse Way. Waterfronts and views are an additional hallmark of expensive homes in the Portland-metro area. While you would expect suburban playgrounds such as Lake Oswego and West Linn to be among the top five, it may come as a surprise that the two top spots go to close-in neighborhoods. Click on the image below to enlarge!
In spite of a somewhat troubled condo market, the Pearl District remains the top seller in the $500k+ category with almost 50 transactions in the last three months, spurred in particular by a number of sales/closings at the Waterfront Pearl. More than half a dozen million dollar homes sold in that period of time.
Another favorite among Portland’s wealthy is the Irvington/Alameda neighborhood in the northeast. Deep pocketed buyers bought just under 50 properties in this historic, close-in section of town. More than a dozen $750k+ homes sold here in the last three months.
With several of Portland’s close-in zip codes such as 97210, 97214, 97213 and 97215 making the top 20, Portland’s status as a poster child for healthy inner-ring suburbs remains in tact…or as we like to say: It’s different here!
