Seattle Rents Fell in January—the Fifth Month in a Row
Shoreline has quiet neighborhoods and impressive swaths of greenery, like Richmond Beach Saltwater Park.
Image: Sophia Simoes / Unsplash
It was a wild 2022 rental market that saw both an extensive rent increase streak and a run of rent drops. So how did 2023 start? It all depends on where in the Puget Sound area you live.
Seattle proper saw continued declines, according to the most recent Apartment List data, but much of the region actually saw year-over-year gains. The Emerald City is still ranked 28th in terms of highest median rent among the top 100 largest metro areas in the country. So despite the downward trend of rents, Seattle's still one of the most expensive places in the United States to be a renter. Go figure.
Rising
7. Shoreline
Seattle's northern neighbor didn't see the impressive 5.5 percent year-over-year rent growth it did back in December, but its 4.1 percent increase isn't exactly middling either.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,586
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,854
Month-over-month rent growth: -0.2 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 4.1 percent
6. Renton
Despite a month-over-month decline, this formerly "affordable" South King County community has rents higher than Seattle now.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,597
Median two-bedroom rent: $2,023
Month-over-month rent growth: -1.1 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 4.3 percent
Renton counts Topgolf and views of Lake Washington among its suburban allures. Perhaps another reason it's still in the positive growth column.
5. Kirkland
This Eastside enclave saw extensive rent and home price increases during the pandemic. Its month-over-month rent change was in the negative column this time, but that doesn't seem to have dampened the year-over-year growth.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,963
Median two-bedroom rent: $2,136
Month-over-month rent growth: -0.3 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 4.6 percent
4. Everett
It's not just Boeing workers anymore—Everett has one of the lowest median one-bedroom rents in the region, but its continued price growth in this housing market is telling.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,340
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,658
Month-over-month rent growth: 0.2 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 5.5 percent
3. Lynnwood
The numbers for Lynnwood's rental market—steep month-over-month decline and also steep year-over-year growth—seem to indicate a city that's normalizing from late-2022 price gains.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,301
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,664
Month-over-month rent growth: -1.2 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 5.7 percent
2. Mountlake Terrace
This city has one of the highest median one-bedroom rents in the Seattle area and one of the highest year-over-year rent growth percentages. Is it on its way back down? Only time will tell.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,750
Median two-bedroom rent: $2,044
Month-over-month rent growth: -0.9 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 6 percent
1. Auburn
Massive year-over-year growth for Auburn, an area with one of the lowest rents in the region, simply means the once-affordable cities are getting that much less affordable.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,352
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,609
Month-over-month rent growth: -0.6 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: 7.5 percent
Rents have continued to decline in Seattle proper.
Image: Jesse Collins / Unsplash
Falling
4. Tacoma
Tacoma has the second-lowest median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Puget Sound region, behind only Lakewood at $1,138. Its modest year-over-year decline doesn't tell the full story either as the month-over-month growth was in the positive column.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,180
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,507
Month-over-month rent growth: 0.3 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: -0.2 percent
3. Lakewood
Renters seeking affordability may just find it in this city to the southwest of Tacoma, where rents have declined ever so slightly compared to January of 2022.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,138
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,391
Month-over-month rent growth: -0.2 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: -0.3 percent
2. Seattle
Though Seattle's housing market saw some surprising gains to end 2022, the rental market continues its decline for the fifth straight month.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,532
Median two-bedroom rent: $1,852
Month-over-month rent growth: -0.9 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: -1.1 percent
1. Mercer Island
What goes up must come down? Guess Newton had it right.
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,943
Median two-bedroom rent: $2,556
Month-over-month rent growth: -1.1 percent
Year-over-year rent growth: -3.4 percent
