Stabilizing Rents? Not so fast...

Seattle has opened up more apartments in the past 5 years than the past 25 years combined, yet it hasn't helped to slow rent increases. Seattle rents have doubled over the last 5 years. Seattle Rents are still growing more than 3x the national average (according to Zillow study). In fact, a 2 Bedroom Unit in Seattle will cost more than $2,000/month.

According to the Seattle Times, over the next year and half the inventory of available units will soar 17% in Seattle as 46,000 new units open. Perhaps this will be what finally starts to slow down rent increases.

Some signs may point towards at least a slight slowdown in rental increases. Vacancy rates are up year-over-year and the average landlord concessions are nearly $1,000. However, in our experience, we've seen more of the high-end units (Downtown Luxury Apartments) staying vacant longer, and those same units offering crazy incentives and driving higher rents.

While downtown luxury vacancies might be higher, rental properties slightly outside the core of the city should stay very appealing for tenants, and should still see healthy rental rates. In addition, the increasing price of housing is making home ownership simply out of reach for many prospective buyers, keeping them in the rental market longer.

So rents may stabilize at some point, but we see the current trend continuing for the foreseeable future.

Contact us if you have ideas or want to discuss future rental options.