Seattle rents drop for the first time in this decade and the laws of supply and demand are playing out in Seattle’s rental market. The construction boom has created a glut of rental properties and vacancy rates are up. When supply exceeds demand, price goes down, and this is exactly what is happening with Seattle rental properties. While a year-over-year comparison still shows an increase, the past quarter has shown a 2.9 percent dip across King and Snohomish counties, and up to a 6 percent dip in popular neighborhoods such as Ballard and South Lake Union The Seattle Times gave an excellent accounting of this trend in a recent article

There could also be other factors in play besides an increase in supply. Rents follow a seasonal cycle and winter/early spring are traditionally slow. Local hiring is also not at the feverish pace it has been, with companies such as Amazon showing a sharp reduction in job posting.

The busy season for renting is right around the corner, hiring trends will change, and while rents may dip in the short term, they will always eventually go up.

For more in depth information about the current rental market in Seattle, contact us and we would be happy to share our thoughts.