How much did the rent go up (or down): November 2017 edition

Editor’s note: This article was first published November 6. It has been updated with data from additional sources.

Median rent in Seattle has gone up over the past several years. But what’s the typical rent in the Emerald City right now? Depending on whom you ask, it’s anywhere from $1,350 to $1,870 for a one-bedroom apartment.

Apartment List’s number tends to be a little lower because of different methodology. Its goal is to figure out what median rent recent movers are actually paying without skewing toward luxury listings. It incorporates both listing and census data into its calculations.

AL’s estimates for studios ($1,813), one-bedrooms ($1,350), and two-bedrooms ($1,690) are virtually unchanged from last month, with decreases of $20 and $10, respectively. That continues a slow descent that started last month.

While rent is largely the same as last month, according to Apartment List, year over year it went up 4.2 percent.

Other Seattle rent estimates are a little higher and a little more volatile. Apartment-listing site Zumper pegs our median monthly one-bedroom rent at $1,800—down about 4 percent month over month and even down a little year over year—or $2,440 for a two-bedroom, also a slight decrease. According to Zumper, median studio rent is $1,450.

Listing site Abodo says our median one-bedroom rent is $1,786, or $2,398 for a two-bedroom.

A couple of weighted averages come in mid-month, including Seattle-based home-listing site Zillow, apartment market research firm Axiometrics, and real estate data firm Yardi Matrix.

Unlike many sites, Zillow calculates its rent index based on all rentals, including single-family homes, whether or not they’re currently available. It also looked at a wider metro, which includes Tacoma, Bellevue, and Everett. By its calculations, rent overall jumped 5.6 percent over the past year, with the typical renter paying $2,198, regardless of apartment size.

Rentcafé looked at the city limits—but only at buildings with 50 units or more. For Seattle proper, it found the typical renter is paying $1,988 per month, but again, that’s only in large apartment buildings. That’s a slight decrease from last month, but a 5.4 percent increase from this time last year.

Axiometrics looked at a smaller metropolitan division that includes Bellevue and Everett. Its research says the typical renter is paying $1,823 per month, up 3.3 percent from this time last year. (Rent is also increasing at a slower rate than this time last year, when it had jumped 5.6 percent.)

For clarity, we’ve compiled various estimates below.

• November 2017 Seattle Rent Report [AL]
• Apartment List National Rent Report [AL]
• Zumper National Rent Report [Zumper]
• November 2017 National Apartment Report [Abodo]
• October Rents Quiet Down in One-Fifth of U.S. Cities in Anticipation of the Off-Season [Rentcafe]