Shocking No One in Seattle...

A new report tells us what we all already know, painfully and personally: rent in Seattle is at an all-time high and rental vacancies are sparse.

If you rented an apartment in Seattle this March, you paid on average $1,071. That's up 8.5% since last March. And you're paying all this if you're lucky enough to have found an available apartment. According to the report: "Apartments generally rent within 30 days of hitting the market in most areas and within about a week in central areas."

The one bright spot for renters in the report? Because of the national housing slump, condo conversions are down in Seattle, hopefully meaning the rental properties that we do have in town are safe for now.

Another perfectly apt photo from Flickr and contributor, photo baron

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By Abbey in News on April 21, 2008 11:30 AM

Comments [rss]

ruffhauser

Apartmenst available for a week? You better hit that ad the day it comes out, or try the next one.......

jessejb

Mine just went up 10% this month.

But my wages go up 5% this summer!

hmm

MvB

It really got me to reconsider my $30 rent increase. Maybe I'll just stay put a while longer.

Abbey

Wherever you are right now mvb, I hope you heard the thud of my jaw hitting my desk.

That's obscene.

MvB

Over the weekend, I called about these rehabbed units in a converted hotel down in the ID, by King Street Station. They started at $500 for a studio. "Now these studios are smaller," said the agent. "They're not for everyone. They're 140 sq. ft."