Tacoma rent is following Seattle’s sky-high prices

Seattle has taken a lot of heat for its sky-high rents that are pushing so many residents out of town. But Tacoma rent is not too far behind the Emerald City.

According to the Tacoma News Tribune:

Consider this: In the past six months, the average apartment rent in Tacoma has increased by $142, or nearly 13 percent, according to data from the apartment search engine Rent Jungle. In Seattle, it’s gone up $92, or 4.5 percent. As of August, average apartment rent in Seattle was $2,154. In Tacoma, it was $1,246, according to the website’s latest data.

The rising Tacoma rent, according to the Tribune, is likely due to the fact that demand is increasing. People are moving to the Tacoma area — many who have been pushed out of Seattle after its own rents became unbearable.

But Tacoma’s own housing inventory is just as slim as Seattle’s. It’s quite possible that Tacoma rent will also become unreasonable for its residents over time. And the upward trend is expected to continue.

Meanwhile in Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray is touting his latest plan to make his city affordable. He announced his commercial affordability plan on Sept. 28. It is the result of his Commercial Affordability Advisory Committee. According to Murray, commercial affordability will work hand-in-hand with other city initiatives, such as raising the minimum wage to $15, and housing affordability through HALA.

According to Mayor Murray’s blog, the commercial affordability plan will:

• Explore a new entity focused on commercial affordability. This entity would provide support services for small businesses and small-scale building owners, including technical assistance, help navigating real estate issues and City processes, support from non-public funding resources, activation of public agency-owned property, and coordinated advocacy.
• Institute new financial incentives. Advocate for legislative changes that would make it advantageous (via property tax exemptions and property tax assessments tied to building income) for property owners to support local small businesses. Stimulate a non-City fund that would provide alternative financing options for both small businesses and small property owners.
• Make changes to public policy. Specifically, focus on the sale/lease of public property; affordable commercial space within mixed-use housing developments, public spaces or transit oriented properties; zoning that encourages small-scale commercial pockets in residential areas; and policies that promote a healthy mix of local, small businesses and chain/big box retail tenancy.
• Improve the permitting process. Reduce permitting requirements for qualifying “light-impact” small business projects, strengthen design guidelines that favor small business and retail spaces, and enable greater neighborhood input on tenant selection.
• Expand technical assistance programs. Increase or supplement the Office of Economic Development’s existing small business resources to include a third-party commercial affordability consulting team, coordinated and diversified outreach (more languages and formats), and an online “Marketplace Exchange” for the small business and property owner community.
  

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