Portland Housing Center

What Portland Housing Center does

Portland Housing Center (PHC) is a 501(c)-equivalent nonprofit founded in 1991 in Portland, Oregon, with support from the City of Portland, local banks, and community advocates to expand access to homeownership. The organization operates as a one-stop-shop for first-time homebuyers in the Portland metro area, delivering a coordinated suite of services across three pillars: education, counseling, and lending. Core products include HUD-certified homebuyer counseling (one-on-one Action Plan development with HomeBuying Specialists), education classes (Homebuying 101, Financial Fitness, Decide Tu Futuro for Hispanic/Latinx buyers), first and second mortgage lending as an FHA Title II Approved Lender, and multiple down payment assistance mechanisms including deferred loans, second mortgages, grants, Individual Development Accounts (IDA) matched savings, and the Wells Fargo NeighborhoodLIFT program ($20,000-$22,500 per eligible recipient).

PHC generates revenue through a $99 non-refundable client registration fee, net interest spread on originated mortgages (cumulative $155,985,425+ brokered or funded since 2003), and grants/donations funding down payment assistance and operations. The organization holds four federal credentials that constitute a regulatory moat: HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI, U.S. Treasury), FHA Title II Approved Lender, and NeighborWorks America Full-Cycle Lending certification, supplemented by Oregon Mortgage Broker licensing (ML 4654) and NMLS 268117 registration. Technology infrastructure is limited to a Salesforce Experience Cloud client portal for intake, scheduling, and service delivery; no proprietary technology stack or AI/ML capability is disclosed.

PHC serves individual first-time homebuyers (10,000+ families cumulatively) with a deliberate focus on historically underserved and BIPOC communities in the Portland metro area. Distribution relies on community-led outreach via a bilingual (English/Spanish) website, social media (Instagram, Facebook), monthly virtual open houses, and a screened partner network of lenders, realtors, home inspectors, and escrow officers. The 22-person staff is led by Executive Director Dana Fuller Shephard (appointed January 2023) and includes a six-person leadership team (Lending, Operations, Finance, Development, Homeownership Program) plus contracted instructors for Spanish-language and culturally specific curricula. The organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors with no parent company or external ownership structure.

Name

Portland Housing Center

Legal name

Portland Housing Center

Website

https://portlandhousingcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Portland Housing Center is a Portland-based nonprofit founded in 1991 that provides education, counseling, and mortgage lending services to first-time homebuyers, with a focus on historically underserved and BIPOC communities in the Portland metro area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Affordable Housing Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Homebuyer education
• Housing counseling
• Down payment assistance
• Mortgage lending
• First-time homebuyer services

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Mortgage Lending: First and second mortgage loans for first-time homebuyers, brokered or funded since 2003
2. Registration Services: $99 non-refundable registration fee for accessing services including credit reports, classes, and counseling
3. Down Payment Assistance Programs: Provides grants, loans, and matched savings programs for qualified homebuyers - funded through grants and donations

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Portland Housing Center is a nonprofit that delivers a one-stop suite of homeownership services for first-time homebuyers in the Portland metro area. Its core offerings include HUD-certified homebuyer counseling, group education classes (Homebuying 101, Financial Fitness, Decide Tu Futuro), in-house first and second mortgage lending with fixed rates, and down payment assistance through grants, deferred loans, tandem loans, matched savings (IDA), and the Wells Fargo/NeighborWorks NeighborhoodLIFT program.

Product overview

Portland Housing Center operates as a one-stop-shop for first-time homebuyers, offering a coordinated suite of services built around three core pillars: education, financial assistance, and lending. The organization provides mortgage lending products (first and second mortgages), down payment assistance programs (loans, grants, and matched savings), HUD-certified homebuyer counseling, and education classes including Homebuying 101, Financial Fitness, and culturally specific courses. Additional offerings include the Individual Development Account (IDA) matched savings program, the NeighborhoodLIFT down payment program, homeowner success support, and an online education platform. The organization connects clients with a network of vetted partner Realtors, lenders, and home inspectors through its client portal built on Salesforce Experience Cloud.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mortgage Lending Services

Quantifiable outcome

• $155,985,425+ in mortgages brokered or funded since 2003
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NeighborWorks AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network affiliation providing shared resources, best practices, credibility, and support for community development and affordable housing initiatives. PHC is one of ~250 NeighborWorks network organizations.
• Proud GroundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner providing affordable homeownership opportunities. PHC Homebuying Specialists tour Proud Ground properties and refer clients.
• Panel of Participating Lenders and RealtorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorScreened network of lenders, real estate agents, home inspectors, and escrow officers who have demonstrated commitment to working with first-time homebuyers.
• Hacienda CDCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity development corporation providing HUD-certified, bilingual foreclosure prevention counseling. Referral partner for housing services.
• Ready To Rent LLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvider of Ready to Rent tenant readiness curriculum. Founder Raina Evans licenses the program to 200+ organizations and has helped 60,000+ renters.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• NeighborWorks America (network): National network of ~250 community development nonprofits including PHC. Provides grants, training, and Full-Cycle Lending certification. While not a direct competitor, it is the umbrella ecosystem PHC operates within and competes with peers in for federal allocations.
• LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation): National nonprofit CDFI supporting local CDCs with capital, capacity, and policy advocacy. Broader incumbent comparable to PHC's community development and affordable housing focus.
• NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America): National nonprofit homeownership organization providing intensive counseling, advocacy, and below-market mortgages to low/moderate-income and minority buyers. Comparable counseling-plus-lending mission at a much larger scale.
• Self-Help Federal Credit Union / Self-Help Ventures Fund: National CDFI mission-driven lender originating mortgages to low-income and minority borrowers across multiple states. Broad incumbent nonprofit lender comparable to PHC's CDFI lending and equity mission.
• Enterprise Community Partners: National nonprofit developer, lender, and policy organization supporting affordable housing. Comparable mission and CDFI-like lending activities, but with significantly larger national scale.

Direct peers

• Proud Ground: Portland-based community land trust providing permanently affordable homeownership opportunities. Listed in PHC data as an active referral partner touring properties with PHC specialists. Directly comparable mission and target clientele.
• Habitat for Humanity Portland Region: Portland-metro Habitat for Humanity affiliate focused on affordable homeownership through sweat-equity builds, counseling, and zero-interest mortgages. Directly comparable mission and service mix to PHC, though with a different supply-side homebuilding model. PHC's Director of Development also has prior Habitat experience.
• REACH Community Development: Portland affordable rental and homeownership CDC. PHC's Preference Policy Program Manager Christy Gifford previously spent five years at REACH CDC. Comparable nonprofit mission and service geography.
• HomeSight: Seattle/Puget Sound nonprofit providing culturally relevant homebuyer education, counseling, and down payment assistance to first-time buyers. Closest geographic/niche comparable to PHC outside the Portland metro.
• Hacienda CDC: Portland-based community development corporation serving Latino families with HUD-certified housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, and affordable housing services. Listed as a referral partner in PHC's data; comparable nonprofit housing counseling and equity-focused model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/portlandhousingcenter
• Instagraminstagram.com/pdxhousingcenter
• Xx.com/phctweet

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Portland Housing Center