In 2021, the city of Portland counted 139,397 apartments and homes for rent within its jurisdiction, according to filings with Portland’s mandatory rental registry.

The next year, that number grew by just six units. And in 2023, the city reported a total of 139,666 units in the registry – only 269 more rental units than two years prior.

At the very least, such slow growth should prompt questions in a city with a severe shortage of housing. But it’s particularly baffling considering the construction that’s taken place in recent years. Roughly 3,000 new apartments or other multifamily units have come online each year in Portland during that three-year stretch, based on the number of building permits issued prior to 2020, according to economist Mike Wilkerson.

Unfortunately, city housing

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