Putting Portland rentals within reach

Consolidated Community Credit Union ($252.4M, Portland, OR) is an accomplished mortgage lender that is now taking on its local housing crunch by helping renters, too.

Consolidated has partnered with the Northwest Credit Union Foundationand two other local cooperatives — $93 million Point West Credit Union and $120 million Trailhead FCU — to offer a security deposit loan that is designed to help people find a better place to live.

Consolidated’s websitedescribes the loan as a way to remove the financial barriers of rental housing. The hot Portland market can make those barriers especially high, says Consolidated president and CEO Larry Ellifritz.

According to Ellifritz, the average monthly rental of a one-bedroom, 764-square-foot apartment is $1,548; a three-bedroom house averages $2,752. And to buy? The average home price is $452,473. By comparison, Abodo puts the national median rent for a one-bedroom apartment at $1,025, and Zillow says the median home listing price in the United States today is $282,000.

 

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