The Portland City Council on Wednesday appeared ready to ban corporate landlords from using algorithmic rent-fixing software, waging a battle playing out across the nation.

Councilors added an amendment specifying the proposed ban would not apply to owners of five or fewer units. The proposal will return before the council for a second reading later this month.

The potential ordinance would apply to “at least 32,000 units in Portland that have been using this algorithmic rent-fixing software,” said Councilor Angelita Morillo, who has championed the legislation.

“We have a responsibility to chip away at that market and make sure that we are doing what we can to make the rent more affordable in Portland,” Morillo said.

Critics charge that software from companies such as RealPage acts collusively to allow large-scale landlords to coordinate rents for thousands of units. The software can recommend rent increases, and prod landlords to bring their rents up if they’re below those charged by competitors. Use of the software has been challenged by lawsuits and local bans in some cities.

Portland’s proposed ordinance would ban “agreement among two or more persons or entities, to set, raise, lower, maintain or stabilize rental prices, fees or occupancy levels for dwelling units with different beneficial owners.”

The law would not apply to publicly subsidized affordable housing.

Rent software has been challenged across the nation. Greystar, the nation’s largest landlord, in August reached a settlement with the Justice Department that bans the company from using any algorithm that generates pricing recommendations using competitors’ data.

RealPage settled a consent judgment with Nevada in September. RealPage did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to pay $200,000 to housing nonprofit groups and to maintain an antitrust compliance program.

Joe Gardner, a lobbyist representing RealPage, said Wednesday that the company’s software had been subjected to a “mix of conspiracy theories and false allegations, none of which had held up in a courtroom.”

Morillo said she had worked with Sen. Ron Wyden’s office in devising Portland’s proposal.

“It’s not going to resolve the entire housing crisis that we have in Portland, but it will address part of the problems that we’re seeing here,” she said.

The proposed ordinance is focused on “competitive, sensitive information being shared through an algorithm,” Morillo said.

The Portland proposal is “carefully crafted to outlaw anticompetitive trade practices,” said Michael Abrams, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

The potential ordinance would create a private right of action for tenants to sue landlords for price fixing as well as allow the city attorney’s office to issue subpoenas and bring the matter to a code hearing.

Landlords and development groups objected to the proposal, saying it would add to housing providers’ regulatory burden in Portland.

“We cannot continually squeeze available supply with more regulations that make it riskier and more expensive to manage housing,” said Cassidy Bolger, director of development at Killian Pacific and an Oregon Smart Growth board member. “This is a disincentive to producers to provide more supply, and I urge you to reject it.”

Developer Brian Owendoff called the proposal “a solution in search of a problem.”

“Portland landlords are not price-fixing,” he said. “Developers and property owners have long used both public and private data through software and market analysis to understand demand and competitive rents.”

Councilors did not vote on the proposal on Wednesday, but most said they were supportive. Councilors Olivia Clark and Dan Ryan were among those critical of it.

“I believe we are sending the wrong message at a time when we need more housing,” Clark said. “We need more housing investment in the city. I also don’t want to risk incentivizing lawsuits against the city.”

Morillo sought to dispel concerns that the potential ordinance would ban Microsoft software commonly used by mom-and-pop landlords.

“I cannot emphasize enough how this policy does not ban Excel,” she said, drawing laughs in the council chambers. “It bans price-fixing coordination.”

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LOS ANGELES — The number of U.S. homes that typically change hands as people relocate for work, retire or trade up for more living space hasn’t been this low in nearly 30 years.

About 28 out of every 1,000 homes changed hands between January and September. That is the lowest U.S. home turnover rate going back to at least the 1990s, according to an analysis by Redfin.

The home turnover rate represents the number of homes sold, divided by the total number of existing sellable properties. While sales data show whether more or fewer homes are selling in a given period, the home turnover rate helps illustrate how homeowners are staying put longer.

“It’s not healthy for the economy that people are staying put,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.

The home sales turnover rate through the first nine months of this year is down about 30 percent from the average rate over the same time periods between 2012 and 2022.

Traditionally, a breadwinner’s new job or a growing family’s need for more space motivate homeowners to sell and relocate. The fact that fewer homes are changing hands suggests there are fewer opportunities for employment mobility or perhaps selling and buying at today’s prices and mortgage rates is unaffordable.

“If people are stuck, it’s reflective of how the economy is stuck,” Fairweather said. “We’re in a low-hire, low-fire labor market and I think that this goes hand in hand with that.”

U.S. employers added just 22,000 jobs in August, according to the Labor Department, down from 79,000 in July and well below the 80,000 that economists had expected.

Government hiring data is on hold during the shutdown, so the Labor Department’s tally of hiring in September was never released, but earlier this month a survey by payroll company ADP showed that the private sector lost 32,000 jobs in September.

Meanwhile, several large companies, including Microsoft, General Motors, Amazon and Target, have announced job cuts.

The slowing job market has many Americans increasingly concerned. That is not a good recipe for home sales.

Another factor keeping a lid on home sales: Many homeowners who bought or refinanced at rock-bottom mortgage rates in 2020 and 2021 have little incentive to sell and buy a home at current home loan rates.

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows that fueled a homebuying frenzy at the start of this decade.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. Sales have been sluggish this year, although they accelerated last month to their fastest pace since February as mortgage rates eased. The average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell last week to its lowest level in more than a year.

While lower rates boost home shoppers’ purchasing power, borrowing costs remain too high for many Americans to afford to buy a home following years of skyrocketing prices. The median sales price of a previously occupied U.S. home has risen 53 percent over the past six years.

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SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is trying to get more homes built for people like Liam Murphy: a fifth-generation city kid who found himself repeatedly outbid for tiny, two-bedroom houses that wound up selling for around $1.6 million.

Murphy, 39, now lives about an hour’s drive away from San Francisco, which he serves as a firefighter. He says it’s too late for his family to move back, but he hopes others can stay in a city where the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $3,500.

“That would just make for a better city overall,” said Murphy, “and the reason is because city kids just grow up being exposed to more. They’re exposed to all the cultures of San Francisco, which makes a more well-rounded person.”

Tiny, colorful San Francisco — just seven miles squared — embraces its image as a city that welcomes all. But its inability to add housing has put its diversity at risk.

Lurie hopes to change that with a plan to allow for denser and taller buildings throughout much of the city, including the westside Sunset neighborhood of single-family homes and the tourist friendly Haight-Ashbury, which is studded with classic Victorian and Edwardian homes.

The issue has roiled the city, and threats of recall loom over San Francisco supervisors who go along with Lurie. At a recent housing rally, the mayor who won a rare reprieve from President Donald Trump’s threats to send in federal forces struggled to be heard over angry chants of “shame” and “liar.”

Protesters demanded the city invest in 100 percent below-market-rate housing and accused Lurie of being a gentrifier and a Republican.

“I truly believe that this has San Franciscans’ best interests at heart,” said Lurie, who is a centrist Democrat. “Are some people going to be fearful? Absolutely. I get it. Change is scary. But the status quo is not working. There’s an affordability crisis right now.”

The city’s estimated 830,000 residents are passionate about both land use and equity. Housing projects have died as pressure to create more affordable units made potential developments unprofitable. Residents also want their stunning views.

But San Francisco is under pressure from the state to adopt a new zoning plan allowing for 36,000 more homes by 2031 — or else the state will decide what gets built where — and the mayor likely has the votes to pass his “Family Zoning Plan.”

Supporters say it’s a matter of supply and demand, and that more homes will bring down the overall cost of housing.

Critics say such trickle-down economics will not work in a city like San Francisco, which is in such global demand that some foreign investors buy properties sight unseen. They say developers will only build luxury housing that’s too costly for most workers, while displacing tenants and destroying entire neighborhoods’ character.

“There’s a herd of elephants in the room that no one will address,” said Eric Jaye, a Democrat and a political consultant who opposes the plan.

Much of the housing push has come from Democrats, including a former city mayor, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed into law a proposal by San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener to build more homes near transit.

The city has made enormous strides in recent years, with whole districts of tall condo buildings cropping up around downtown, said Rafael Mandelman, president of the Board of Supervisors. But he acknowledges that people come to San Francisco for its more intimate neighborhoods and access to green space.

“San Francisco, historically, was the city for people who didn’t love cities,” Mandelman said.

Katherine Roberts, 72, initially welcomed construction of an affordable housing complex near the three-story Edwardian home she labored to buy in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood two decades ago. But at eight stories, the 160-unit building has shattered her peace of mind, dominating her view.

“I’m looking out and it’s like I’m living in East Germany,” she said. “How can you build something this inappropriate in a historic neighborhood like the Haight-Ashbury? What about all the people who already live here? What are we supposed to do?”

For the most part, the new zoning plan allows for more housing to be packed into the space of a single-family home — say a duplex with a studio — without exceeding the city’s height limit of roughly four stories for such properties. At least 15 percent of new housing must be below market rate.

Buildings in neighborhood commercial corridors could be up to eight stories. Busier thoroughfares could see high-rises of 10 stories or taller, and in a few spots, on Van Ness Avenue, heights could hit 650 feet, rivaling some downtown skyscrapers.

Passage of Lurie’s proposal won’t necessarily lead to more homes in a city with high labor and construction costs and “notoriously complex and cumbersome” approval processes, as the state indicated in a scathing 2023 review.

And so city dwellers make do with overcrowded — and sometimes awkward — living situations.

Laura Foote, executive director of YIMBY Action, wound up living with the man who is now her husband — and the woman he was divorcing — in a one-bedroom apartment for about six months, until his ex could find another rental.

“We didn’t kill each other,” Foote said, “but it went on longer than it would have in a well-functioning housing market.”

Supervisors are still negotiating amendments to the zoning plan, which is still under review by the board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee. Some supervisors want to exempt historic properties, or all buildings currently used for housing. The mayor agreed to exempt buildings with at least three rent-controlled units.

The compromise was a major relief for Phyllis Nabhan, 78, who lives in the Richmond neighborhood, between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. She fears becoming homeless if a developer scoops up the property she’s called home for 47 years.

But Nabhan still objects to the proposal because she says it would ruin her neighborhood’s “cozy and wonderful” feel. She blames the state for forcing the city to change.

“I think that this mayor is trying,” she said. “It’s a horrible job; I wouldn’t want to be mayor.”

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LOS ANGELES — For years, skyrocketing home values and a modest market inventory gave homeowners the upper hand in transactions. That’s no longer a given.

Across the country, it’s getting tougher for sellers to drive a hard bargain. A dearth of home shoppers who can afford to buy and uncertainty about the outlook for the economy, jobs and mortgage rates is putting pressure on sellers to give ground at the negotiating table.

In some markets, mainly in the South and West, homeowners eager to sell are more likely to give buyers a better deal. This could include a lower price, up-front money to reduce the buyer’s mortgage rate, and funds for closing costs and any repairs or improvements that may pop up after the home inspection.

The reasons: Would-be buyers balk at what they view as unreasonable asking prices, while at the same time new construction is giving buyers more options and putting pressure on sellers to make their homes more appealing.

As a result, while the national median home listing price rose slightly in July, some metro areas saw a decline, signaling a reversal in the power dynamic between buyers and sellers. It’s rare to see the type of eye-popping bidding wars that boosted home values by roughly 50 percent nationally earlier this decade. Low-ball offers are more common.

Nevertheless, the housing market remains mired in a slump. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes are running about 1.3 percent below where they were through the first seven months of last year, when they sank to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

The national median home listing price rose slightly in July from a year earlier to $439,450, according to Realtor.com. The real estate listing company found the most a homebuyer who earns the median U.S. household income can afford to spend on a home is $298,000. The analysis assumes a 20 percent down payment and a 30-year mortgage at a fixed rate of 6.74 percent. By those criteria, 7 out of 10 home shoppers are priced out of the market.

The housing market has been in a rut since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. The number of homes available for sale sank while prices kept rising.

Nationally, more homes are going on sale and remaining unsold longer because buyers have been unwilling or unable to make a deal. Active listings — a tally that encompasses all homes on the market except those pending a finalized sale — increased in July for the 21st month in a row, climbing nearly 25 percent from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.

The inventory of homes for sale across the U.S. has increased gradually as the market has slowed and is now at a level where supply and demand are more balanced. But in states like Texas and Florida, the number of homes on the market has climbed sharply, partly because those states are hotbeds of new home construction.

Home shoppers may now have more leverage relative to sellers in the South and West, where home inventory has risen in the single digits, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Conditions are tougher in markets in the Midwest and Northeast, where the supply of homes remains 40 percent and 50 percent below pre-pandemic levels, respectively, according to Realtor.com.

After roughly two months on the market and three open houses, Doug McCormick’s home has yet to receive a single offer.

The retired business owner and his wife initially listed the 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath house located in Evergreen, a mountain community about 30 miles west of Denver, for $1.3 million. They lowered their asking price to about $1.28 million. That, too, failed to bring in a buyer.

McCormick, 80, says he’s hoping mortgage rates ease a bit and bring out more buyers. But he’s also considering just renting the property.

“That’s something that’s kind of in the back of my mind,” he said. “I keep reminding myself you only need one buyer.”

McCormick’s situation is not unique. As demand has slowed, more sellers have resorted to lowering their initial asking price — often multiple times — to no avail.

“Even though we are seeing a substantial amount of price reductions, sometimes it’s not enough to move the home; it’s still sitting,” said Annie Foushee, an agent with Redfin in Denver.

The median home listing price in Austin fell 4.9 percent in July from a year earlier, while in Miami it dropped 4.7 percent. Among other metro areas that had sharp drops in their listing price were: Chicago (4.4 percent), Los Angeles (4.2 percent) and Denver (4 percent).

In markets where buyers now have the upper hand, sellers who can afford to wait are often opting to pull their listing rather than be pressured into drastically reducing the price.

Tammy Tullis put her home in the Miami suburb of South Miami on the market in June. But the 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath house didn’t receive many offers initially, so she dropped her $2.8 million asking price by $100,000. That helped drive turnout during an open house, but she received only low-ball offers.

“They were like $400,000 to $500,000 off the mark,” said Tullis, 51.

Last month, the finance consultant took the listing down. She may relist it soon.

“I want to sell, but I’m not in a rush-rush,” Tullis said.

The Trump administration has pushed the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, saying it would help the housing market. But homebuyers – and politicians – should keep in mind that the central bank directly influences only short-term rates, while most mortgages are based on the yield of the 10-year Treasury.

And while lower mortgage rates would boost home shoppers’ purchasing power, they also could bring in more buyers, giving sellers less incentive to keep lowering prices.

Economists generally expect the average rate for a 30-year mortgage to remain near the mid-6-percent range this year.

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A study of housing development costs in cities throughout the Portland metro area conducted by the newly formed nonprofit Affordable Oregon has found the city of Portland is the most expensive in which to build.

The group’s study, dubbed the Local Government Accountability Project, examined fee schedules for housing development from 19 metro-area government jurisdictions. For purposes of the study, data was collected in six primary evaluation categories: systems development charges, permitting fees and charges, planning and engineering fees and charges, time to market estimates based on feedback from industry professionals, total combined cost of all categories, and the results of a building industry survey conducted by Affordable Oregon during the month of April.

“This effort is a massive undertaking that took hundreds of hours of labor, provided entirely by volunteers interested in what the LGAP would find once completed,” said Joe Keizur, executive director of Affordable Oregon. “We believe the results speak for themselves, and at a minimum show that local government is a major factor in the cost of a home and without reform to our current system, the cost of government on each home is likely to continue rising.”

When the 19 jurisdictions were ranked based on the six categories, Portland received the lowest score, making it the “single worst place for a builder/developer to do business in the Portland metro area,” according to the report.

Portland’s permits, fees, SDCs and interest carry due to delays will tack on $85,300 to the cost of a home, regardless of the structure’s size or final sale price, according to the study. That’s $20,000 more than the median cost of roughly $65,000 throughout the rest of the metro area.

West Linn is the next most expensive jurisdiction in the metro area, with a little more than $81,000 added to the cost of an average home. Beaverton, which tacks on roughly $71,000 per home, is the third most expensive in the rankings.

On the flip side, the most affordable jurisdiction in the metro area for homebuilders is the city of Milwaukie, with an average cost per home of $44,700 in fees permits and other costs. Other areas that ranked among the most affordable jurisdictions were Tualatin, Forest Grove, Troutdale and Gresham.

The entire report can be accessed .

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