American Dream

A local home builder says Portland's urban-growth boundary "has really been our friend." The boundary has reduced competition for home construction by keeping out major home building companies that compete in other regions.

Nor is the builder worried about a housing bubble. "The fact that we have an urban growth boundary limits the supply of housing," he says, so prices aren't likely to fall much when interest rates rise. That's his opinion: the owner of another home building company says "we are slowing down" because he expects the bubble to begin deflating any day now.

Of course, no one interviewed any consumers to see whether they are happy with the high housing prices created by the urban-growth boundary.