In his new Ear to the Ground blog post, the first in a three-part series, real estate attorney David Petersen discusses challenges facing the vacation rentals industry in Oregon. This first post focuses on who truly makes...more
On July 17, 2024 I attended a webinar hosted by First American Title about the commercial real estate (CRE) market in transition. Here are some important takeaways. In the overall economy, inflation peaked in the summer of...more
Tonkon Torp business attorney Mick Harris moderates a conversation between Tonkon Torp real estate attorney David Petersen and special guest Jackson Lewis of Northwest Trustee & Management Services. The conversation focuses...more
This is the last of my three-part series on common misperceptions about the vacation rental industry in Oregon. In my first post, I explained why vacation rentals are important drivers of local economies. In my second, I...more
This is part two of my three-part series on common misperceptions about the vacation rental industry in Oregon. Last week, I explained why vacation rentals are important drivers of local economies. This week, I take on the...more
Over the past few years, my colleagues and I have been waging numerous battles on behalf of the vacation rental industry around Oregon. We have achieved some successes, like in Clatsop County and the City of Manzanita, and...more
On January 31, the Portland City Council passed its Housing Regulatory Relief package. This package, which had been approved by the City Planning Commission on a 7-1 vote in November, follows years of lobbying from the...more
Last week, after a multi-year battle, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) unanimously approved a site certificate for the Nolin Hills renewable energy facility. This decision represents an important milestone in...more
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It is also chock full of energy. Approximately one kilogram of hydrogen contains as much energy as one gallon of gasoline. Unlocking that energy for human use is perhaps...more
Rising interest rates doomed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was shut down by federal regulators in mid-March after a run on deposits that the bank couldn’t cover. Similar failures followed in other regional banks in New...more
Real estate attorney David Petersen talks housing solutions in this Ear to The Ground.
Across the nation, residential rents continue to outpace wage growth, making housing less affordable for many. In 2022, the national...more
Real estate attorney David Petersen talks housing solutions in this Ear to The Ground. Across the nation, residential rents continue to outpace wage growth, making housing less affordable for many. In 2022, the national...more
The idea of banning gas stoves has gained national traction lately, mainly as a Republican talking point to generate outrage. But is there any merit to the idea that reducing natural gas use in buildings will have beneficial...more
For years, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley has championed the SAFE Banking Act, a federal bill that would make banking services available to cannabis businesses in states where cannabis is legal. The bill has passed the House...more
In 2019, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2001 – the “middle housing” law. This new law will bring wide-ranging changes to construction of new housing in Oregon, but has received little press so far....more
Investments in apartment buildings are slowing down – real estate attorney David Petersen breaks down the trend....more
Attorney David Petersen offers an update on the regulatory battle over short term rentals (STRs) in Oregon....more
Since before the pandemic, multi-family housing has been one of the hottest real estate investments in the nation. In the 2010s, the number of renters surpassed the number of homeowners in many U.S. cities, and fast-growing...more
In November 2021, voters in Lincoln County along the Oregon coast passed Ballot Measure 21-203 in an effort to control what proponents of the measure believe to be lack of regulation of short term rentals (STRs)....more
The Oregon Department of Forestry recently released a new interactive wildfire risk map for every tax lot in the state – over 1,800,000 parcels in all. The mapping effort is part of the comprehensive wildfire response...more
Portland innovators PAE Engineers and ZGF Architects recently combined forces with several other joint venture partners to show that living buildings are commercially feasible. The new five-story headquarters for PAE at SW...more
In 2015, the City of Portland approved a policy requiring commercial buildings 20,000 square feet or larger to track energy performance information using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and to report that information to...more
According to national broker and research firm CBRE, e-commerce businesses led the nation in leasing new industrial space in 2020. This is understandable given that we were all stuck at home during quarantine....more
As the two-year pandemic finally begins to fade into the background (at least for now), commercial real estate continues to adapt to market challenges, both old and new. Inflation is an old challenge that took quite an...more
In 2021, the Consumer Price Index jumped 7%, the largest yearly increase since 1982. The monthly increase in December 2021 was the largest in 40 years. Most economic experts believe that this inflationary period is a result...more