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Portland officials permitted more than 1,400 鈥渕iddle housing鈥� units during a roughly three-year period, adding stock in the city鈥檚 single-family neighborhoods and dramatically outpacing detached single-family construction, according to a new report.

The new units have also proven to be less expensive than Portland鈥檚 older single-family homes. New market-rate middle housing units sold for $250,000 less on average than detached single-family houses, providing affordable workforce housing in Portland neighborhoods.

The data comes from Portland鈥檚 Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, which released a progress report on middle housing construction on Tuesday. The report encompasses the period since looser residential zoning rules took effect in 2021.

The city鈥檚 effort to boost middle housing has been largely successful, said Michael Andersen, a Portland-based researcher with the Sightline Institute, a West Coast policy group.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 quite a lot,鈥� Andersen said of the housing production data.

The city鈥檚 Residential Infill Project, first enacted in 2021 and then expanded the following year, has touched off significant growth in single-family zones, the report shows. In 2023 and 鈥�24, more than twice as many middle housing units were produced than houses in Portland鈥檚 single-family zones.

He pointed to data showing middle housing production is now outpacing single-family home construction.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 impressive,鈥� Andersen said.

Housing activists also were pleased that Portland鈥檚 report found no uptick in demolitions.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 seem like this policy is creating a lot more demolitions than you had before,鈥� said Jennifer Shuch, board vice president for Portland: Neighbors Welcome, a pro-housing community group. 鈥淏ut where you are having demolitions, you鈥檙e getting a lot more units.鈥�

The burst of home construction was largely concentrated in the city鈥檚 close-in Eastside neighborhoods between the Willamette River and Interstate 205, the report found.

Little middle-housing construction has occurred in several Eastside neighborhoods, including Richmond, Sunnyside, Montavilla and Powellhurst-Gilbert.

That points to the need for Portland to further loosen zoning in the area, Shuch said. Portland: Neighbors Welcome is pushing a 鈥渇our floors and corner stores鈥� zoning plan for the area from 12th to 60th avenues and Northeast Fremont Street to Southeast Powell Boulevard.

鈥淭his to me shows it is needed,鈥� she said. 鈥�(The Residential Infill Project) is doing a great job of adding these housing units, but not in that Central Eastside area.鈥�

Districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as city-designated historic and conservation districts, saw little construction of middle housing and alternative dwelling units. Only 2.6 percent of such units were permitted in historic areas, even though those areas comprise 5.7 percent of single-dwelling-zoned lots, BPS found.

Gov. Tina Kotek has advanced a housing bill that could make it easier to build middle housing in historic areas. The legislation, House Bill 2138, would end a state rule that requires demolition review in districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The legislation would 鈥渞emove a lot of the chilling effect on what could be very compatible infill housing,鈥� Andersen said.

Kotek鈥檚 bill also defines a model schedule for system development charges, or SDCs, that would scale down for smaller projects.

Large fees can stop a small ADU or a middle-housing project from construction, Andersen said.

鈥淧ortland already does that to some extent, but it鈥檚 a big piece of evidence that you have larger effects on smaller homes if you remove SDCs,鈥� Andersen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge obstacle to the viability of a small and often bootstrapped project.鈥�

Housing activists are optimistic that middle housing deregulation will aid production, which is challenged by high interest rates that affect both construction and mortgage loans, and other economic obstacles including materials costs.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all good news,鈥� Shuch said.