Parsing a Portland Rent Check to See Where the Money Goes

A deep dive into what a Portland rent check pays for sheds light on strategies to help lower rising rents.

2 minute read

September 9, 2018, 9:00 AM PDT

By Camille Fink


Pearl District

Kyle Sprague / Shutterstock

Michael Andersen recently crunched some numbers to answer two questions. First, if we take a hypothetical rent check from a Portland apartment and follow the money, what is the breakdown? And second, what does that tell us about ways to bring down rental costs in a city where more and more people are struggling to find affordable housing?

For the first part of his exercise, Andersen identified 11 factors that influence the cost of rent – everything from marketing and parking subsidies to property taxes and property management costs. He found that by far the largest chunk of a rent check went to housing materials and construction costs:

I assumed $194 per square foot of living space for work done in 2016 and 2017. It came to about 34 percent of project costs, the biggest single share of today’s rent check – and also the driving force behind most of the other factors, from architects’ fees to bank loans. For every $1 that hard costs rise or fall, total project costs rise or fall $1.31.

He then used this insight to take a closer look at nine ways rental prices could be brought down, some of which he acknowledges are less realistic than others. For example, Andersen suggests reducing public services (lowering the average rent by $85 a month) and making small apartments legal again ($158 a month).

In the end, he points to $832 of potential savings. All this, says Andersen, assumes that developers will pass on these savings to renters, which in the short-term they may not be inclined to do. However, the effect over time is also important: lower costs encourage overbuilding, which then drives down the price of housing.

Andersen says that lower-income residents are not going to be able to afford even the cheaper rent he is proposing, and more affordable units in older buildings are where they will end up. But, rents in newer buildings directly affect rents in older ones and so, argues Andersen, dealing with the cost of new buildings creates an important ripple effect throughout the housing market.

Thursday, August 30, 2018 in Sightline Institute

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Two Rivian trucks charging at Rivian branded charging ports.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate

The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

7 hours ago - CALmatters

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

May 22 - Wired

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

May 22 - The Urbanist