Remodeling stays steady in Portland as homeowners stay put

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Oct 12, 2007 by Alison Ryan

Residents of Portland's close-in neighborhoods tend to be a fiercely loyal bunch. And for many, investing in the home - and the neighborhood - they love rather than pulling up roots is a smart financial decision.

"All of the inner Portland neighborhoods have come up in value," said Lane Cooper, who owns Cooper Designbuilders. "Therefore, they're being remodeled."

Reasons to move are fast-changing into reasons to remodel. Upsized spaces. Sleeker kitchens. Better bathrooms. And, in inner Portland especially, century-old homes in need of serious updates.

The Irvington bungalow that Craftsman Design and Reno-vation recently remodeled fits the profile. The homeowners, said production manager, Suzanne Cathey, could have moved - but they're not.

"They love everything about where they live," she said. "They can walk to the store, the neighborhood's great, but they have two kids who are getting older."

Accommodating the growing family meant shrinking the two-car garage to one-car to make space for an addition, remodeling the existing kitchen, adding an upstairs laundry alcove and replacing the narrow, steep old-house stairs to the basement and upper story.

Permitting numbers support what remodeling pros are seeing. Since January 2007, Multnomah County has issued 1,426 residential remodeling permits and 1,331 permits for single-family residential home construction. During the same period last year, the county issued 1,341 residential remodeling permits and 1,326 single-family residential home permits.

Business has been steady as clients work remodeling into their home ownership options, said Greg Sawyer, Providence Builders' principal.

"People have the choice of taking an old house and making it fit their needs, or they're going to buy a new house, or they're going to have a new house built," he said. "And there are a great number of people who bought a home, an existing older home, that has incredible character that just isn't available in the world of old construction. They are the perfect remodeling candidate."

That's especially true in Portland, where older homes dot every block of beloved neighborhoods. A Northeast Portland project by Providence Builders bumped up a typical two-bedroom, one-bath 1920s home's space by turning an attic into a master bedroom and adding a new, much bigger kitchen.

Small bedrooms, nonexistent closets, a tiny kitchen - choosing an older home has tradeoffs.

But right now, Cooper said, is a good time to remodel. Cooper Designbuilders specializes in high-end renovations, and within that market, he said, he's seen a reduction in both materials costs and a bigger skilled-labor pool. Home values, he said, are also holding.

"We're more urban based," he said. "We're not seeing the reduction in equity that we're seeing in the suburban market."

And that's leading clients like the owners of an 1898 Southeast home to make investments.

Cooper and his crew dug down the basement three feet to make a high-ceiling, light-filled play space, added a master suite, and put modern upgrades into the house the homeowners want to stay in.

"They love the neighborhood," Cooper said. "It's the inner-city Belmont area, and it fits their personality very well."