Report: Seattle building more new apartments than New York City
Sep 18, 2019, 5:47 AM
Although construction on new apartments has slowed down in other parts of the country, the Seattle area is bucking the national trend.
While housing market balances out, Seattle rent continues skyward
According to a recent study from RentCafe, Seattle is building new apartments at a higher rate than New York City. The metro area will build nearly 13,700 total new apartments in 2019, a 17 percent increase from last year.
Not to be outdone, Bellevue is upping it’s game too, adding 1,700 new apartments before the end of 2019.
Seattle ranks second in the nation in new apartments in 2019 only to Dallas-Fort Worth, and ahead of New York, Miami, Austin, and Atlanta respectively. San Francisco ranks 17th, while Portland ranks 20th.
Even with the influx of new apartments, rent in Seattle continues to grow. August marked the eighth consecutive month where median rent increased in the city.
Per the latest data from Apartment List, between July and August, Seattle rent increased 0.5 percent, along with a 1.3 percent year-over-year increase to boot. And while this is behind the national year-over-year average of 1.5 percent, it’s still a stark contrast to the city’s increasingly more manageable housing market.
Report: Seattle rent prices among highest in the entire country
Back in July, Seattle also grabbed the dubious honor of being nation’s most expensive large city for renters outside of California, trailing only San Jose, San Francisco, and San Diego.
KIRO Radio Staff contributed to this report
