[Editor: I’ve had a bunch of conversations about this. Time to write it down. Especially given the article in The New York Times I just caught.] In previous startup eras around here, anytime that the Bay Area returns to “epicenter” status of a technology era — or any other gold rush for that matter — the rising prices often cause creative intelligent folks to start looking for other more affordable places to call home. The past couple of times, Portland has been among those choices. I’m not sure it’s well positioned to be among those choices this time around. But it definitely could be.
Prices in the Bay Area were already crazy. But with SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic stock — among others — all gaining liquidity in short order, it’s gotten even more mind boggling.
Forty-four homes closed at prices at least $1 million more than their asking price last month, said Mike Simonsen, the chief economist for Compass Real Estate. And there have been 144 such sales so far this year, up from eight in the first half of 2025. Fewer than 600 homes — including single-family houses and condos — are on the market today, about 40 percent below San Francisco’s average of the past decade, according to Compass.
The market is so frenzied that a six-bedroom, seven-bathroom 5,725-square-foot home in the Cow Hollow neighborhood with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz sold for $15 million in May, nearly double the list price of $7.9 million, according to John Caruso of Sotheby’s International Realty.
It’s just bonkers.
But you know what they say, “It’s worth whatever people are willing to pay for it.” So don’t expect this to slow down anytime soon.
But that also means that there are going to be a lot of amazingly talented folks who are being priced out of the Bay Area. And they’ll likely be looking for somewhere else to move. Previously, Portland was often on that list. What with the food and beverage scene, access to the outdoors, and other cultural perks. Not to mention Fred and Carrie painting a charmingly quirky picture of what it’s like around here. And the aforementioned publication salivating over our restaurants in the food section.
But these are not those times. Our reputation has been tarnished. (And because we’ve never worked to actually “own the narrative” about our community, it’s more difficult to burnish that reputation.) And yet, we’re still here. Still building. Still existing as a quiet yet compelling and unique outpost among metropolitan areas on the West Coast.
(Admittedly, there’s also the potential downside to this, obviously. It’s not all upside. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. We’ve already seen how this influx of high earners can cause the cost of living around here to escalate. So it’s not exactly a slam dunk. It’s messy. And nuanced. Like everything else ever. But it does have some positive knock on effects to counter the negatives to some extent.)
This is an opportunity. (And I know you startup types love an “opportunity.”) An opportunity to infuse our community with some new people, some new perspectives, and maybe — just maybe — some new startups and some new risk-tolerant capital.
However, in order for that to happen, Portland actually needs to be on the list of options. It needs to be perceived by those folks as a great option for the next phase of their journey.
It doesn’t have to be a glowingly shiny object. But it does have to be on the list as a nearby option. Or a soft landing.
And, real talk, I honestly don’t know that we’re there, this time around. I for sure know that we’re not as much a part of that conversation as we have been in the past. And that other metros like Seattle and Austin and Boise are far more likely to make the list, these days.
So what to do…? Part of this will be reliant on electeds and economic development groups and the like. But part of the onus is on me. And you. To swallow our constant “aggressive humility” in favor of chirping a little bit. Not in a braggy way. But in a proud way. About what you’re building. About why you’re building it here. And about why you believe in Portland and its potential.
tl;dr You don’t have to do anything new or noteworthy. You just have to talk about what you’re doing.
It’s not all about you. It’s about the why.
And we could use a little more “Why Portland…?” right now.
Food for thought. But please feel free to hit me up if you publish any content in this regard. I’d be more than happy to amplify it.
