Seattle rents have increased again for 0.5 percent over the past month, and have increased slightly by 1.3 percent in comparison to the same time last year, according to the most recent report from Apartment List.
Currently, median rents in Seattle stand at $1,362 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,696 for a two-bedroom. This is the eighth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in December of last year.
Seattle’s year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.7 percent, as well as the national average of 1.5 percent.
Rents rising across the Seattle metro
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Seattle, but across the entire metro. Of the largest 10 cities that Apartment List has data for in the Seattle metro, all have seen prices rise.
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 $1,493; the city also has experienced the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 4.4 percent.
- Over the past month, Kent has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro, with a decline of 0.5 percent. Median two-bedrooms there cost $1,842, while one-bedrooms go for $1,479.
- Bellevue has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,424; rents grew 0.4 percent over the past month and 2.3 percent over the past year.
Similar cities nationwide show more affordable rents compared to Seattle
As rents have increased slightly in Seattle, a few similar cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly. Compared to most other large cities across the country, Seattle is less affordable for renters.
- Rents increased slightly in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 1.7 percent over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 1.8 percent in Vancouver and 1.3 percent in Spokane. Spokane has a median two-bedroom rent of $905, where Seattle is more than one-and-a-half times that price.
- Seattle’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,696 is above the national average of $1,191. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.5 percent over the past year compared to the 1.3 percent increase in Seattle.
- While Seattle’s rents rose slightly over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+3.7 percent), Austin (+3.2 percent), and Boston (+2.2 percent).
