Rent crisis lands Mac on state watch list

Housing prices in McMinnville continue to escalate, but high costs for renters have landed the city on a statewide watch list of “severely rent burdened” areas.

2018’s HB 4006 uses census data to identify cities over 10,000 population where more than 25% of renters are spending over 50% of income on rent. Burdened cities are required to hold a public meeting, complete a survey and report housing statistics annually while they are on the list, according to Community Development Director Heather Richards.

“Essentially it’s collecting data and then having a discussion on how we can reverse the trend,” Richards said of the process.

Using 2022 data, McMinnville qualified as severely rent burdened this year, with 26.5% of tenants spending over 50% on rent.

“I suspect it’s higher now as new data will emerge,” Richards said.

The city held its required meeting last month and will use the state-mandated Housing Production Strategy (due to be complete by the end of 2025) to identify strategies to ease the burden on renters, Richards said.

McMinnville resident Brynna Reardon said she was lucky to know people in town who helped her family find a three-bedroom rental for $1,600 monthly, while all other properties they looked at ranged from $2,200 to $2,500 monthly.

“I’m having a hard time understanding how a majority of people can (get by),” Reardon told the News-Register.

Prior to Covid, her family rented a two-bedroom unit for $1,200 per month.

“It has changed drastically in that five-year timeframe as to what is affordable,” she said.

Reardon noted moving generally requires two months’ rent as deposit, which can mean upwards of $6,000 down to move into a unit.

“It’s really completely out of reach for most people,” she said.

Reardon and her husband both worked for the McMinnville School District, but she decided to become a stay at home mom due to the escalating costs of childcare.

“It didn’t make sense to return because basically the cost of childcare, I would just cut even,” she said. “I don’t know how single parents do it.”

Aside from rent and childcare, families are further strained by increases to things such as electricity and groceries, setting up a market designed to put people in debt, according to Reardon.

“If you can’t afford it, you’re just using credit cards or other resources and falling in debt,” she said of the high cost of living. “It’s a failing system right now.”

City consultant Beth Goodman of Eco Northwest will assist with state-mandated planning work over the next year. She said the median household income in McMinnville of $65,000 can afford to pay rent, but not by much.

However, 30% of the city make less than $40,000 annually, which puts most units out of reach, Goodman said.

“They can afford a little less than $1,000 in housing costs,” Goodman said. “How many units can you think of that you can rent here in McMinnville for $1,000? I’m willing to bet that there’s very few.”

The city has a lack of zoned areas for affordable units, a short supply of developable land, lack of resources to support income restricted housing and not enough local nonprofits to support the development of affordable units, she said.

The HPS has been described as a tool kit for developers to spur construction by project consultants and could look at zoning and code changes, reducing regulatory impediments, providing financial resources and incentives and exploring tax exemption and land acquisition or partnerships, according to the Department of Land Conservation and Development.

That work is over a year from completion however and the situation for renters is likely worse than the 2022 data reflects. In the meantime, longtime residents will continue to struggle to find adequately priced units to rent.

“The people who built this town aren’t able to live in it,” Reardon said.

Have you had an experience with the high cost of rent in McMinnville? Have you struggled to find a rental unit in the city or nearby? The News-Register would like to hear your story. Email reporter Scott Unger at sunger@newsregister.com.