I'm Elizabeth Davidson, a broker with Cascade Hasson Sotheby's International Realty, and I work consistently in the top 2% of REALTORS® in the Portland Metro by volume sold. Hillsboro and the broader Washington County market make up a significant part of my practice — I know the difference between what Reed's Crossing looks like in year two of buildout versus year six, and I know which Orenco Station blocks put you closer to the MAX versus the parking lot noise.
What I try to bring to buyers is honesty about what a neighborhood actually delivers, not a pitch for the city at large. Hillsboro has real tradeoffs — the Intel employment story has been complicated over the past 18 months, the market has softened from its 2022 peak, and the right neighborhood for a tech commuter looks very different from the right neighborhood for a family prioritizing school walkability. I'd rather you hear that from me upfront than figure it out after you're under contract.
In this guide, I'll walk you through the neighborhoods that are worth your attention right now, what your budget actually buys across Hillsboro's price spectrum, and who this city genuinely suits — and who might be better off looking one city over.
Orenco Station sits in the middle tier and remains the neighborhood I point buyers toward first when they want walkability and community feel in the same package. The stretch between the MAX Blue Line station and Cornell Road has actual street life — coffee in the morning, dinner out without a car, a farmers market on weekend mornings where you'll run into the same neighbors week after week. The original Craftsman-style homes mix with newer attached product, and the whole area has a density that most of suburban Hillsboro simply doesn't.
Northwest Hillsboro consistently commands the highest prices of any Hillsboro submarket, landing firmly in the top tier, and it moves faster than anywhere else in the city. Buyers here are typically after newer single-family homes with more space, and the area delivers — quieter streets, well-maintained planned neighborhoods, and quick access to the Sunset Highway corridor. If you want to be in Hillsboro's most competitive pocket, this is it.
South Hillsboro / Reed's Crossing is where I send buyers who want new construction without paying a Portland premium. This is Oregon's largest master-planned mixed-use development, and at over 1,400 homes sold since 2018, it has enough residents now that it doesn't feel like a construction zone anymore. On a weekday morning you'll see engineers on bikes heading toward the tech corridor and young families at the pocket parks; builders like Lennar and David Weekley are still actively delivering homes here, and the price point lands in the entry to middle tier depending on configuration. It draws heavily from first-time buyers and early-career tech workers, and that shows in the energy.
Quatama often gets overlooked because it sits between more talked-about neighborhoods, but buyers who need the MAX and want a single-family home under the middle-tier ceiling consistently find good value here. It's quiet, walkable to the Quatama station, and close enough to the Tanasbourne retail corridor that errands don't require a real trip. Think Saturday afternoon coffee on a front porch rather than a walkable downtown — it's residential in feel, which is exactly what some buyers want.
Tanasbourne appeals to buyers who prioritize convenience above all else. The catch is that you're in a more commercial environment — this is where the big-box retail, the restaurants, and the medical offices cluster. But that also means everything is five minutes away, and the housing options here tend to fall in the entry tier, which gives buyers more flexibility. It's less of a neighborhood in the traditional sense and more of a highly functional place to live.
The single biggest mistake I see buyers make is treating Hillsboro as one uniform market. It isn't. Northwest Hillsboro and Southeast Hillsboro have medians that differ by roughly $60,000 right now, and their days on market are on opposite ends of the spectrum — one moves in under two weeks, the other is sitting significantly longer. Walking into Hillsboro with a single price expectation means you'll either overshoot or miss neighborhoods that fit your budget.
The second misconception is about the Intel effect. Buyers relocating for tech work sometimes assume Hillsboro's proximity to Intel's campuses at Ronler Acres and Jones Farm automatically means a tight, appreciating market. The reality in 2025 and 2026 is more nuanced — Intel has reduced its Oregon headcount substantially, and that has put real pressure on the condo and attached resale segment in particular. It doesn't mean the market is broken, but it does mean the "Intel premium" that once applied to nearby neighborhoods is less reliable than it was a few years ago.
The third thing buyers consistently underestimate is how much new construction shapes the numbers here. Roughly a quarter of Hillsboro's closed sales over the last two years have been new builds, mostly in South Hillsboro. When you're reading citywide median figures on a national portal, that new-construction pipeline is in there — and new construction prices differently than resale. National sites are a useful starting point, but they don't always capture what's happening street by street.
| Budget | What You'll Typically Find | Where to Look |
|---|---|---|
| Under $480K | Condos, townhomes, attached product; some older SFH needing updates | Tanasbourne, Southeast Hillsboro, Quatama |
| $480K–$580K | Mid-size single-family homes, newer townhomes, entry-level new construction | South Hillsboro, Orenco Station, Central Hillsboro |
| $580K+ | Larger SFH, premium lots, newer builds with upgrades | Northwest Hillsboro, upper Orenco, West Hillsboro |
Hillsboro's median sold price is running in the $500K–$520K range as of mid-2026, essentially flat to slightly down year-over-year depending on which segment you're measuring. Average days on market have climbed from around 30 to 40 days citywide compared to a year ago — the market is more balanced than it's been since 2020, which means buyers have more negotiating room, especially on resale condos and anything that's been sitting.
Hillsboro makes the most sense for buyers who work in the Washington County tech and bioscience corridor — Intel, Genentech, Qorvo, and Nike are all here or nearby — and want to own rather than rent. The commute to Portland runs about 30 minutes, and with MAX access from Orenco and Quatama, you can make that commute car-free if you're working downtown. Families who want solid public schools without paying Bethany or Lake Oswego prices consistently find Hillsboro hits the right balance.
If you're prioritizing urban walkability, a dense dining and nightlife scene, or you simply don't need to be in the tech corridor, Hillsboro is probably not your answer. Portland's inner neighborhoods serve that buyer better, and if budget is the primary driver, Aloha gives you more house at a lower price point with access to most of the same infrastructure.
Buyers coming from California — particularly the Bay Area — consistently underestimate how far their budget goes here, and then are surprised to discover that "far" doesn't mean remote. A $550,000 budget in Hillsboro buys a real single-family home in a planned neighborhood with good infrastructure, not a trade-down from what they had. The price-to-quality ratio registers as genuinely surprising for buyers used to coastal California math.
The other pattern I see frequently is buyers from Seattle or the Eastside who expect Hillsboro to feel like a satellite of Portland the way Bellevue feels like a satellite of Seattle. It doesn't — Hillsboro has its own economy, its own employment base, and neighborhoods like Orenco Station that were built around their own identity rather than as bedroom communities. That self-contained quality tends to win people over quickly, especially once they realize the commute to Portland is optional rather than mandatory for a lot of the jobs here.
| City | Schools | Commute to Portland | How It Compares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsboro | B (Hillsboro SD) | ~30 min | Largest employer base in area; broadest range of neighborhoods and price points |
| Beaverton | B (Beaverton SD) | ~20 min | Shorter commute, comparable schools; typically runs $30K–$50K higher on similar product |
| Aloha | B (Beaverton SD) | ~25 min | Lower prices than Hillsboro; fewer walkable amenities; unincorporated, no city services |
| Bethany | A (Beaverton SD) | ~25 min | Top-rated schools; noticeably higher prices; less inventory |
| Forest Grove | B (Forest Grove SD) | ~45 min | Lower entry prices; longer commute; more rural feel; good option for buyers who want land |
| Cornelius | C+ (Hillsboro SD) | ~35 min | Most affordable in the corridor; less polished infrastructure; strong value play for the budget-conscious |
Is Hillsboro's market still affected by Intel layoffs? Yes, and it's most visible in the attached and condo segment — those units have seen longer marketing times and more price softening than single-family homes. The single-family market, particularly in Northwest Hillsboro and Orenco, has held up better. If you're buying a townhome or condo near the Intel campuses, you have more negotiating room right now than you would have had two years ago.
Which Hillsboro neighborhoods have the best MAX access? Orenco Station and Quatama both sit directly on the MAX Blue Line, and both are in the middle tier price-wise. If car-free or low-car living matters to you, those are your two neighborhoods — Orenco has more street-level walkability once you're off the train, while Quatama is quieter and more residential.
How does Hillsboro compare to Beaverton for a family? Beaverton's school district has a slightly stronger overall reputation and the commute to Portland is shorter, but you'll typically pay more for comparable square footage. Hillsboro makes more sense if you're working in the tech corridor itself rather than commuting east — the reverse commute disappears entirely. Both cities sit in the middle tier to top tier range for family homes; the decision usually comes down to where you're working.
What price range gets the best value in Hillsboro right now? The middle tier — $480K to $580K — is where I see the best combination of quality, location, and inventory. You can find a real single-family home in South Hillsboro or Orenco at that range, and the market has softened enough that well-prepared buyers aren't facing the bidding wars of 2021–2022. The entry tier has more selection than it did, but a lot of it is attached product, which has softened most.
Is South Hillsboro / Reed's Crossing worth considering, or is it too new? It's worth a serious look, especially for buyers who want new construction and don't want to pay a premium for it. Reed's Crossing has enough residents now — over 1,400 homes sold since 2018 — that the community infrastructure is real, not promised. The catch is that it's still building out, which means construction activity and some amenities still maturing. If that doesn't bother you, the price point in the entry to middle tier is genuinely competitive for what you get.
If you're seriously considering Hillsboro, the most useful thing you can do right now is get specific about which neighborhood actually fits your life before you start sending offers. The citywide median doesn't tell you much — Northwest Hillsboro and Southeast Hillsboro are functionally different markets, and Orenco and Reed's Crossing attract different buyers for different reasons. Come in with a clear picture of your commute, your school priorities, and whether you want walkability or space, and the right pocket of Hillsboro becomes much clearer.
What I've learned after years of working this market is that the buyers who end up happiest here aren't the ones who got the best deal on paper — they're the ones who bought in a neighborhood that matched how they actually live day to day. A short walk to coffee, kids who can bike to the park, a commute that doesn't eat the whole evening — those things show up in how people feel about where they live two years in, and they don't show up in the listing photos. Hillsboro has a real range of those environments. The job is finding yours.
If you're thinking about a move to Hillsboro and want someone who'll be straight with you about what each neighborhood actually delivers, I'd love to have that conversation.
Todd Davidson has helped buyers across Oregon navigate the mortgage process.
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