Portland City Council has set the 2026 sale-price cap for its Homebuyer Opportunity Limited Tax Exemption at $455,000. A separate proposal affecting about 700 unsold, fee-exempt homes remains pending. The measures show how city officials are balancing buyer affordability, builder incentives, and efforts to move existing housing inventory.
Key Takeaways
- Portland City Council adopted the $455,000 sale-price cap on July 8, 2026.
- The HOLTE program provides up to a 10-year property tax exemption on qualifying structural improvements.
- Buyers must generally earn no more than 100% of median family income and occupy the property.
- A separate proposal would temporarily remove income limits from about 700 unsold homes that received development charge exemptions.
- Council continued consideration of the income-rule proposal to July 23 at 2 p.m.
Portland City Council has retained a $455,000 maximum sale price for homes entering the city’s Homebuyer Opportunity Limited Tax Exemption program in 2026.
The council adopted the resolution by a 10-0 vote on July 8, with two members absent. The same price cap applied in 2025, meaning the action maintains the limit rather than creating a new exemption or expanding it to all Portland home sales.
A related but separate housing proposal remains unresolved. That ordinance would temporarily remove buyer-income limits from certain homes that received Affordable Housing System Development Charge exemptions and have not sold.
City documents estimate that approximately 700 homes could be affected. Council members continued that proposal to a July 23 meeting after considering it alongside the tax-exemption resolution.
Portland Adopts the 2026 HOLTE Price Cap
The Homebuyer Opportunity Limited Tax Exemption, commonly called HOLTE, is administered by the Portland Housing Bureau.
The program allows qualifying single-unit homes to receive a property tax exemption on the assessed value of structural improvements for up to 10 years. Owners remain responsible for taxes assessed on the land.
Eligible properties generally include newly constructed single-family homes, townhomes, and condominiums within Portland. Homes must usually have at least three bedrooms, although some two-bedroom properties in approved transit-oriented areas may qualify.
The program also requires owner occupancy. A qualifying home cannot be used as a rental property during the exemption period, and subsequent buyers must meet applicable income and occupancy rules to retain the tax benefit.
The $455,000 Limit Reflects Local Sales Data
Portland Housing Bureau staff recommended retaining the previous year’s cap after reviewing housing prices and program participation.
Multnomah County data placed Portland’s median home sale price at approximately $520,000 for transactions recorded between January and November 2025. The median price for attached homes was lower, at $416,900, based on Regional Multiple Listing Service data reviewed by the city.
The adopted $455,000 limit is approximately 87.5% of the broader median sale price and 109% of the attached-home median.
Program data from the 2024-25 fiscal year showed an average sale price of $328,522 for homes using the HOLTE or affordable housing SDC programs. Sale prices ranged from $150,000 to the previous $455,000 cap, while the average buyer earned slightly more than 80% of median family income.
City staff also acknowledged that the full $455,000 price could remain difficult for some qualifying households. The city calculated that a household earning 100% of median family income would need a down payment of approximately 16.1% to afford a home at the maximum price under the interest-rate conditions included in its analysis.
The Exemption Has Specific Buyer Requirements
The Portland homebuyer tax exemption does not automatically apply to every newly constructed home priced below $455,000.
Builders must apply before obtaining a building permit. The program is limited to qualifying property types and accepts no more than 500 applications during a fiscal year, with certain exceptions for affordable housing developments.
Buyers generally must earn no more than 100% of Portland-area median family income for a four-person household. The limit is adjusted upward for households with more than four members.
The exemption covers structural improvements rather than the entire property-tax bill. Once the 10-year period ends, or if the property no longer complies with program rules, the home is reassessed and the owner becomes responsible for the full applicable property tax.
The policy is one part of Portland’s broader response to housing costs, which has also included restrictions on AI rent-setting tools used in the rental market.
A Separate Proposal Targets About 700 Unsold Homes
The second measure before the council concerns Portland’s Affordable Housing System Development Charge Exemption Program rather than HOLTE.
System development charges are fees collected to help fund infrastructure such as transportation, parks, water, and environmental services. Portland’s affordable housing program can remove those charges from qualifying projects, reducing building-permit costs by approximately $30,000 for each new home, according to the city’s impact statement.
In exchange, builders must sell the homes below an established price cap to owner-occupants who meet income requirements.
The proposed ordinance would temporarily remove the income restriction from a limited group of homes. It would apply only to units whose builders entered the affordable housing SDC program and received building permits before January 1, 2026.
City officials estimate that about 700 qualifying homes remain unsold.
The Proposed Waiver Would Have Narrow Limits
Removing the income rule would not eliminate every restriction placed on the affected properties.
The homes would still need to be sold for no more than the applicable price cap and occupied by their buyers. They could not be converted into unrestricted rental properties under the program.
The temporary change would run through September 30, 2028, which is also the sunset date for Portland’s broader Temporary SDC Exemption Program.
The waiver would not apply to homes participating in HOLTE. It would also exclude units using certain transportation infrastructure or tree-preservation incentives.
The city says the proposal would create more comparable conditions between older projects and homes permitted under the broader temporary SDC program adopted in 2025. New housing units in that program can receive development charge exemptions without requiring their eventual buyers to meet income limits.
Council Members Remain Divided on the Income Change
The Housing and Permitting Committee forwarded the income-waiver ordinance to the full council on a 3-2 vote.
Councilors Steve Novick, Mitch Green, and Candace Avalos supported recommending passage. Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Tiffany Koyama Lane voted against the referral.
The full council considered the proposal on July 8 but did not take a final vote. It continued the item to July 23 at 2 p.m.
The delay separates the proposal’s status from that of the $455,000 HOLTE cap, which was adopted during the July 8 meeting.
The debate also comes as the council manages wider city budget pressures affecting departments and municipal priorities.
The Measures Affect Buyers and Builders Differently
For buyers, the adopted HOLTE resolution preserves access to a program that can reduce property taxes on qualifying newly built homes for 10 years.
The benefit does not reduce the home’s purchase price or eliminate land taxes. Buyers must also comply with the program’s income, owner-occupancy, and property requirements.
For builders, retaining the $455,000 cap provides certainty about which homes may qualify during 2026. However, city staff noted that increasing land, labor, insurance, and material expenses can make it more difficult to produce family-sized homes within that limit.
The pending income waiver addresses a different issue. It would allow builders with older SDC-exempt projects to market certain homes to buyers above the existing income ceiling.
Supporters describe the proposal as a way to sell homes that have remained on the market. Its practical effect would be to expand the pool of potential buyers while preserving the price and owner-occupancy requirements.
The July 23 Vote Will Determine the Next Change
The $455,000 sale-price cap for Portland’s 2026 HOLTE program is now adopted.
The unresolved question is whether the council will temporarily remove income restrictions from the estimated 700 homes that entered the affordable housing SDC program before 2026.
A vote on July 23 would determine whether those properties can be offered to a wider range of owner-occupant buyers through September 2028. Until the ordinance passes, the existing income requirements remain in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Portland Homebuyer Tax Exemption?
The Portland homebuyer tax exemption is a program that provides qualifying newly constructed homes with up to a 10-year exemption on the assessed value of structural improvements. Owners must continue paying property taxes assessed on the land.
What Is the 2026 Sale-Price Cap?
Portland City Council set the 2026 HOLTE sale-price cap at $455,000. Homes must also meet the program’s property, buyer-income, and owner-occupancy requirements.
Did Portland Remove the Buyer-Income Requirement?
Not for the HOLTE program. A separate proposal would temporarily remove income limits from about 700 unsold homes that previously received affordable housing system development charge exemptions.
Which Homes Would Be Covered by the Proposed Waiver?
The waiver would apply to qualifying SDC-exempt homeownership units whose building permits were issued before January 1, 2026. The affected homes would still be subject to price and owner-occupancy restrictions.
When Will the Council Consider the Pending Proposal?
Portland City Council continued the income-waiver ordinance to July 23, 2026, at 2 p.m. The current eligibility requirements remain effective unless the council approves the ordinance.
