Boise, Bozeman, Bend.
Paris, Portugal, Portland.
The Covid-19 pandemic created an unprecedented exodus both to and from the Bay Area, and smack in the path of that wave was the Inner East Bay.
Buyers migrated by the hundreds from their tight San Francisco domiciles, descending on the scarce inventory in Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, Albany and El Cerrito, and creating a price surge that was dizzying.
Equally robust was the wave out of the area, as work-from-home became nearly universal and people epiphanized that they no longer needed to endure commutes, high rents and Libby Schaff.
Suddenly we had new vocabulary: Zoom-room, WFH, SIP, remote learning, social pods. People turned their lifestyles inside-out. For the first time in 20 years, “proximity to BART” was supplanted by a desire to be near nature, trees, birds. “Coffee on the deck” was preferable to the “walk to coffee” criteria of yesterday. Home office space was the hottest ticket in town.
My own clients migrated to a dozen different places, but nowhere was more popular than Portland, Oregon. In the first two years of the pandemic, five of my clients traded the Bay for the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. What they found in Portland was outstanding housing stock at prices well below ours, a similar lifestyle with better walkability, less driving, easier parking, shorter distances, and progressive (and effective) city management. And roses everywhere!
I recently had the opportunity to catch up with some of my clients in their new Portland homes, and with the real estate agent, Marisa, who I had found by researching, interviewing and vetting several Portland agents. Each of my clients who worked with Marisa had quick success and rave reviews. It was so fun to meet up with her on the front porch of one of her beautiful historic listings (how gorgeous is that front porch?!), as well as with my clients on their own front porches, living rooms, and wine/oyster/coffee bars around the city. In the process, I got to take a few of bites of the delicious (and aptly named) Rose City. Take a peek…
