Commissioner Leonard must be banking on the market turning around by 2012 and let’s hope he’s right, but why compete with struggling home builders for business? Why didn’t Leonard sell off the properties if he doesn’t know what to do with them? 
Considering that Zillow has identified Portland as one of the worst housing markets in the country,  I wanted to find out if the $310,000,00 price tag that was realistic. This map by Zillow displays all the houses available and their prices. There’s only one house over Randy’s proposed price, all the rest of the comps are at least $100,000.00 below that price. I also checked with an appraiser who shall be known as, “The Unknown Appraiser”  to get his input. After checking the neighborhoods of all the available properties the water bureau owns and based on  the rendering, he said: 

One of the properties the Water Bureau Owns and its Value

This sample floor plan reminds me of post world war two housing designed for its functional use with no individual flair or character. Undoubtedly they would be located in the inner city on high density sites and soon to become known as “the projects”. In 5-10 years the occupants outgrow the home and garage, cars move from the garage to the driveway, then to the streets, then to section 8 housing, then to crack homes and eventually demolished by the city for a new transit mall or urban greenspace. Property values of surrounding homes would probably be diminished. Initial values of the homes would most likely not be competitive given the cost overruns common when city government and contractors do business. ………unknown appraiser.