According to the latest citywide revaluation, the median Portland home jumped from $396,700 in 2024 to $566,600 — a 43% increase.
The mill rate dropped to $11.98, but for many homeowners, the tax bill shock is very real.
Read more: Portland Press Herald: Portland residential property values increased an average of 43% in last year
There are 2 Solutions
1️⃣ Fiscal responsibility
City Hall must get smarter and more disciplined about spending. Every dollar counts, and runaway budgets only make the problem worse.
2️⃣ Expanding the tax base
We need more growth, not stagnation. That means encouraging development of all types — residential, commercial, and mixed-use — to spread the burden and stabilize taxes.
TAXES / INFLATION / HOUSING FACTS
We cannot control:
- The cost of building
- The cost of money (interest rates)
- The cost of land
We can control:
- Rolling back or eliminating inclusionary zoning (IZ), which penalizes housing creation
- Ending rent control, which discourages investment and reduces supply
These changes would have the single greatest positive impact on affordability (and yes - lower your taxes) — and they are fully within the City Council’s power.
HOW YOU VOTE MATTERS.
Right now, Portland has what is arguably the most anti-prosperity City Council in its history — a body heavily influenced by activist-driven policies that punish housing creation, job growth, and investment.
THE CONSEQUENCES ARE CLEAR.
- Fewer homes being built
- Higher rents and house prices
- Boarded-up storefronts
- Unsafe and unsavory streets
- And now, rapidly rising tax bills for homeowners
If we don’t speak up, Portland will continue down a path toward decline — not progress.
HOW YOU CAN HELP.
- Contact your City Councilors. Demand fiscal discipline and housing policies that support balanced, responsible growth.
- Demand they repeal and eliminate inclusionary zoning (IZ). This one change would do more for housing affordability and tax stability than any other action within the Council’s control.
- Support growth that expands the tax base. Development — of all types — spreads the tax burden and creates opportunity.
- Oppose the proposed $19 minimum wage. It’s anti-business and will hurt the small businesses we should be protecting — from entry-level jobs for teens to part-time jobs for seniors.
If we fail to act, Portland risks sliding back into the urban decay of the 60s and 70s — boarded-up downtowns, unsafe streets, and shrinking opportunity.
PROSPERITY isn’t a 4-letter word.
- We need MORE JOBS.
- We need MORE JOB CREATORS
- We need MORE HOMES & APARTMENTS
- We need MORE DEVELOPMENTS
- We need MORE DEVELOPERS
- We need MORE OPPORTUNITY.
- We need MORE PROSPERITY.
FOR MORE read my book Priced Out of Portland, as well as my opinion pieces on housing versus hotels and the ReCode “Report Card” at https://homewithtomlandry.com.
