Photo: Atomic Taco
2013 was a rough year for King County renters. They saw a 6.5% rise in rents across the year and found themselves being priced out of some of Seattle's most sought-after neighborhoods. Average rent in Seattle ended up at $1,371/month. $1,624/month if you want to live in downtown Seattle or Belltown.
Now, there are some signs out there that the rental market is stabilizing and, maybe, just maybe, rents might even come down a little bit.
After climbing 3 percent in 2013's second quarter and 2.4 percent in the third, the average monthly rent in the Seattle metro market actually dipped in the fourth quarter by $5, according to Seattle-based Apartment Insights Washington, which tracks rents, vacancies and concessions in the Puget Sound region. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate rose to 4.6 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 4.4 percent in the third quarter, and more properties offered fatter concessions, said Tom Cain, principal of the Seattle firm. All you have to do is look around Seattle and you'll see new apartment, condo and townhome developments growing like wildflowers. It stands to reason that there's only so many people around to live in all of them.
· Seattle-area apartment rents may stabilize, even dip in 2014 [Seattle Times]