HFO Interview with Iain MacKenzie, Founder of Next Portland
Release Date: 01/22/2026
Washington State Multifamily News Update
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Washington saw several significant developments this week. The Ballmer Group announced one of the largest private affordable housing commitments in state history. Puget Sound housing permits fell to their lowest level in a decade while the region experienced job losses. Washington's rent cap law completed its first full year of enforcement. The Spokane Tribe of Indians continued its major expansion into the Puget Sound multifamily market, and state agencies began adapting ahead of HUD's new federal homelessness funding priorities.
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Oregon and SW Washington Multifamily News Update
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
This week we are reviewing a couple of events that are important for the Multifamily Market including a proposal to convert vacant Portland storefronts into housing, leadership changes at Home Forward, a major waterfront redevelopment in Ridgefield, a lawsuit involving Apartments.com's payment platform, and two federal housing policy updates.
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Nearly a Decade of Inclusionary Zoning: What Portland’s Experiment Actually Produced
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
If you’ve been watching Portland’s apartment market for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the term “inclusionary zoning” thrown around a lot. Today I want to walk you through what that program actually produced over nearly a decade, what changed, and what it means for owners and investors going forward.
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Oregon Multifamily Legislative Update For June 2026
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Oregon's multifamily housing industry brought a unified message to Salem last week and found legislators in both parties willing to listen. Today we are covering what was discussed and what it signals for the 2027 legislative session.
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Washington Leads the Nation’s ADU Surge
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Today we’re talking about ADUs — accessory dwelling units. Tiny detached homes quietly appearing behind single-family houses. Suddenly ADUs are becoming one of the biggest housing policy stories in the country.
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The Portland Comeback: Why Institutional Capital Is Coming Back
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
For the past several years, Portland’s national image has often been dominated by stories about office vacancies, homelessness, crime concerns, tax frustration, political conflict, and downtown struggles. And yet underneath those headlines, something much more complicated — and frankly much more interesting — has been happening. Institutional capital is quietly returning to Portland.
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Portland Multifamily Permits Are Down and The Completions Crash May Be Next
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Today we’re talking about a chart that may quietly define Portland’s apartment market over the next several years and almost nobody outside the industry is paying attention to it yet.
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The $600 Per Square Foot Question Nobody Is Asking
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Today we’re talking about a question that almost nobody in Portland housing politics seems fully comfortable asking out loud. Why does subsidized affordable housing in Portland often cost dramatically more per square foot than market-rate apartment construction?
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HFOTV Interview with Portland City Councilor Eric Zimmerman
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Today we’re looking at Portland’s housing market through the lens of city policy, development feasibility and investor confidence. HFO partner Greg Frick recently sat down with Portland City Councilor Eric Zimmerman, who chairs the city’s Housing Committee. They talked about multifamily permitting, downtown recovery, investor confidence and what it will take to get housing production moving again.
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Washington Housing Crossroads: The State Looks for a New Housing Playbook
HFO Multifamily Marketwatch
Today we’re looking at Washington state, where several recent stories point to the same challenge: the state knows it needs more housing, but production, policy and regulation are still not aligned.
info_outlineToday, we’re spotlighting a conversation between Greg Frick and Iain MacKenzie, founder of the Next Portland blog. If you were tracking apartment development in Portland anytime between 2014 and 2022, you probably used his site. The good news? Next Portland is coming back!