Builders, lawmakers seek housing solutions January 27 2021
Annual summit addresses the need for many more homes to be built in Oregon every year.
New home construction was one of the brightest economic stars last year. After a 13-year slump caused by the Great Recession, housing starts returned to historic levels in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
But annual construction in Oregon needs to increase by one-third over the next 20 years to provide enough additional housing to ease the affordable housing crisis and to reduce homelessness. The state currently needs nearly 600,000 additional units of all kinds to meet the existing and projected demand through 2040.