When AIC was founded in 1984 by Michael Welt and Marty Hall, our goal was to fund common-sense real estate loans throughout Oregon. AIC grew by honoring commitments and acquiring glowing word-of-mouth reviews. Today, our agile team takes pride in custom solutions that meet the exact needs of our clients. As we think back to the 37 years we’ve been in business, it’s clear that a lot has changed in Oregon! Our long history gives us a unique perspective on market trends, real estate, local politics, and more.

It’s no surprise that Oregon’s population has skyrocketed since 1984! But it’s still incredible to look at the stats and consider how different the real estate market was back then.

We all know that the housing market has been crazy in Oregon. But the market was full of up and downs back in 1984, too. After the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate in 1981, homeowner mortgage rates were an astounding 17-18.5%. This mortgage rate caused the sale of homes to drop 50%, from 4 million homes in 1978 to 2 million homes in 1982. During this time, more Americans began renting since they couldn’t afford homeownership. In 1984, the year that the U.S. Census began tracking the percentage of families who could afford to buy a modest home in their home state, buying a home was affordable for a little over 60% of families.

In the first half of the 1980s:

• Inflation-adjusted average home sales price: $237,003
• Housing starts: 1.3 – 1.7 million units
• Homeownership rate: 63.9% – 65.6%
• Housing price-to-rent ratio: 1.14x – 1.27x