Portland’s homeless crisis has residents ‘picking somewhere else’ to live, realty broker says
Portland real estate broker says houses ‘sell for slightly less’ due to homeless camps spreading into residential neighborhoods
Portland homes ‘sell for slightly less’ due to homeless camp ‘problem’: Realty broker
Dwell Realty broker George Patterson on the difficulties around finding homebuyers amid Portland’s homeless crisis.
As Portland residents have started speaking out against far-left politicians over the homeless crisis and crime surge fueling an exodus from the city, a local real estate broker is describing the difficulty of offloading these for-sale properties.
"A lot of these spaces now are occupied by camps, and a lot of the homeowners now have changing circumstances," Dwell Realty broker George Patterson said on a "Mornings with Maria" panel Wednesday.
According to the housing market expert, homeowners and potential buyers are "full of concerns" about the growth of homeless camps within residential neighborhoods, and it’s also causing a pricing shift.
"They're looking at their lives and wondering, ‘How long do I continue to live here?’" Patterson noted. "And they're saying, ‘Should I live here? Should I find a home somewhere else?’ And they're picking somewhere else."
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In addition to the homeless crisis, the Portland Police Department has reported that total crime has spiked nearly 25%, with motor vehicle theft increasing by 51%, burglary by 19% and robbery by 42% compared to 2020.
Growing homeless camps in residential Portland neighborhoods have residents fleeing and selling their properties "for slightly less," Dwell Realty broker George Patterson said on "Mornings with Maria" Wednesday, September 7, 2022. (iStock)
"What's interesting is the homes do sell for slightly less," Patterson noted on the state of Portland’s real estate market. "I think slightly less than what they would have sold for without camping."
In one of his recent listings, Patterson claimed his client purchased an additional one-third of an acre to grow fruit trees, but the location and deterioration of the lot depreciated the home’s overall value.
"It descended down into an industrial area, so there was razor wire surrounding it and there were broken-down Army vehicles," Patterson detailed. "So, did it sell for less than when it was broken-down Army vehicles? Yeah, probably a little bit."
Long-time Portlandians are typically moving to "little towns" outside the city that have more space, but capture the same Pacific-Northwest beauty.
"The bigger issue is people are trying to move into areas with more space; just like everybody in the pandemic, you now need a home office, you want a big yard, you want a pool, etc.," the broker said.
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Portland residents flee over homeless, crime crises
Former Portland resident Jeff Reynolds and 'The Fields Bar & Grill' owner Jim Rice joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss how the homeless crisis and crime surge have prompted many to flee the city.
Resident Jeff Reynolds said he lived in Portland for almost three decades, but was forced to flee over what he called "unbearable" circumstances on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning.
"I don't know if there's one final straw there were infinite final straws," Reynolds said. "I guess talking to my neighbor across the street and all of the times that she told me that she had to clean up after homeless people defecated in her yard, that was a big one."
Portland's The Fields Bar & Grill owner, Jim Rice, who joined Reynolds in the Fox & Friends segment, told Fox News' Todd Piro that small businesses in the area have taken a particularly significant hit battling the crises.
Portland’s homeless crisis ‘changing circumstances’ within housing market: Realty broker
Dwell Realty broker George Patterson says Portland residents are ‘full of concerns’ regarding homeless camps growing in residential neighborhoods.
"Our business has been burglarized five times in the last year," he continued. "U.S. Outdoor, which is only maybe about six blocks from us, they have been burglarized 17 times. They finally had to close their doors because they just could not afford being burglarized as many times as they are."
"We have people all around us that are making the decision to turn around and leave," Rice continued. "They're selling their places literally at a loss just to be able to get out of Portland. They've lost faith in the local government."
Fox News’ Bailee Hill contributed to this report.