PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Amidst constant rising costs, a new poll is finding that Oregonians are having trouble finding a place they can afford to live.
The poll by DHM Research looked at 500 Oregonians from across the state across a number of different variables to ensure the study was representative of the whole state.
According to the poll, 14% of Oregonians said that they think the economy is improving but 53% said it is getting worse. That number is drastically up from 2016 when only 26% of Oregonians said the economy was worsening.
When it comes to affordable living, the poll found that 37% of Oregonians said their housing situation is unaffordable, which the poll defined as “housing that accounts for more than 30% of income.”
Along those same lines, 70% said that now would be a bad time to buy a house with 45% of people thinking houses will get more expensive and 50% thinking house prices will decrease.
The poll also found a disconnect between renters and homeowners, with homeowners wanting house prices to increase and renters wanting those prices to go down.
Lastly, when asked about housing bills in Oregon, a majority were in favor of tax deductions for the elderly and helping incentivize converting office spaces to houses. On the opposite end, a majority were against building new housing on farms and forestlands.
