Tacoma is experiencing fourth-highest rent growth in the country, says report

While Tacoma still has some of the lowest city rent in the region, rates are rising at a much faster rate than most other cities in the country, according to a report by apartment-listing site RentCafé.

The report found that Tacoma had the fourth highest year-over-year average rent increase in the country: 10.6 percent, the highest increase outside of California. That’s compared to under 3 percent nationwide.

Despite the increase, average rent in Tacoma remains comparably low for Washington State, at $1,110 a month. The only analyzed city in the state with cheaper average rent was Spokane, with $860.

Unlike many other rent reports, RentCafé uses averages—more easily thrown off by an influx of newer, ritzier buildings. Still, this report is consistent with Apartment List’s report earlier this month, which found a 10.2 percent increase in median rent over this time last year.

Bellevue has the highest rents in the state, according to the report, at an average of $2,091 per month—which is also a similar outcome to Apartment List’s median data.

The report also found that Kent is experiencing a massive rise in rent, with 8 percent growth year over year and an average rent of $1,324 per month.

In their analysis, RentCafé used rental data for buildings with 50 or more units in the largest 250 cities in the United States from commercial real estate data source Yardi Matrix.

This is troubling—and perhaps not surprising—news for both longtime Tacoma residents and transplants hoping to escape rising rents up north. At least for now, the City of Destiny’s rent remains lower than most.

• Apartment Rents Still on a Roll in Most Cities Though Some Hot Markets See Important Declines in March [RentCafé]
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