Slowly but steadily, rents are rising, and they’re going up faster than last year. In Q1 2024, Seattle rents grew 2.2 percent compared to 1.3 percent during the same quarter last year, according to new data from Apartment List.
This local increase in rent comes despite the U.S. rental market cooling off as a whole. Nationally, annual rent growth has remained negative since last summer. By contrast, in March 2024, Seattle’s rent prices grew 1.4 percent over the previous March.
While rental rates are inching up as opposed to skyrocketing, the outlook for renters is far from rosy. In March, Seattle had the 16th highest median rent – $2,019 – making it one of the priciest cities in the country for renters.
Much of our region has seen rents increase year over year as well. Bellevue, Issaquah and Sammamish have had annual rent hikes of 5 percent, 5.4 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively. Stunningly, if comparing the median two-bedroom rent in Sammamish to the largest cities in the country, this sought-after suburb would rank fifth most expensive, just behind San Francisco.
Mill Creek in Snohomish County has a median one-bedroom rent of $1,878, reflecting year-over-year growth of 1.5 percent. Auburn has a median one-bedroom rent of $1,320, representing a 2.2 percent jump from last year. During Q1, Puyallup saw its rents increase 2.4 percent from the same time last year, while Redmond saw rents grow by 2.6 percent.
This post was based on information found on Seattle Met.