Image: Wikimedia
Dupre+Scott Apartment Advisors has some good(ish) news for apartment renters in Seattle. While they say the average one-bedroom rent in King County is $1,350 a month, 9.4 percent higher than last year, that number is skewed by all of the upscale and luxury apartment buildings that have opened over that time. Take them out and you're left with a 6.9 percent gain over the last 12 months. This skew is most evident near downtown where rents for older units is only up 3.9 percent over the last year. Couple that with a predictions that rents in older buildings will only increase 1.5 percent by next spring and we could be looking at a the slow down in rising Seattle rents that so many people have been hoping for. None of this is slowing down development in the region as Dupre+Scott says 11,000 new units are coming to the region this year and 11,000 are scheduled for 2016. However, a survey of older building landlords says only one-third of them plan on raising rent by next March. It's cold comfort to those already priced out of Seattle but for those still here it's a good lesson in where to look for more affordable housing.
· A warning to apartment investors: Seattle market not as hot as it seems [PSBJ]
· Rent increases slowing for older Seattle apartments [ST]