Seattle rents declined 4.2 percent over the past month, and are down sharply by 12.2 percent year-over-year, according to the latest report from Apartment List.
Currently, median rents in Seattle are $1,483 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,849 for a two-bedroom.
This is the seventh straight month that the city has seen rent decreases after an increase in March. Seattle’s year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of -4.0 percent, as well as the national average of -1.4 percent.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing economic fallout continue to overwhelm renters across the country, our monthly rent estimates paint the picture of a protracted national slowdown and uneven recovery,” said Chris Salviati, Housing Economist at Apartment List.
“Our national rent index is down 1.4% year-over-year, but there is tremendous regional variation beneath the surface. San Francisco and New York City continue to lead the nation in pandemic rent drops, while smaller markets like Boise and Colorado Springs are heating up,” Salviati said.
Rents rising across the Seattle Metro
While Seattle rents decline, rent prices in the rest of the metro are seeing the opposite trend.
Rents have risen in 6 of the largest 10 cities in the Seattle metro for which Apartment List has data. Here’s a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.
- Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,382; additionally, the city has seen rent growth of 0.4 percent over the past month, the fastest in the metro.
- Seattle proper has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro.
- Redmond has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,131; rents went down 2.3 percent over the past month and 6.9 percent over the past year.
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