Seattle’s residential rents continue to soar

Monthly rents on Seattle-area homes and apartments continue to climb, taking a bigger chunk out of household incomes, according to market-research firm MPF Research.

Seattle ranked number four on the top-10 list for the largest rental hikes in the past year – up 6 percent over the second quarter of 2012.

MPF Research directed investors eager to pick up rental properties to look West where several metros’ rental rates have skyrocketed over the past year.

The San Francisco Bay Area has seen some of the largest rent hikes – an increase of 7.8 percent in the second quarter of this year compared to the same time period a year ago, according to MPF Research.

Of the top 50 U.S. metros with the highest average rent growth, the following areas have seen the biggest spikes, MPF found:

San Francisco: 7.8 percent
Oakland: 6.9 percent
Denver: 6.1 percent
Seattle: 6 percent
San Jose: 5 percent
Portland: 4.4 percent
Houston: 4.3 percent
Austin: 4.1 percent
West Palm Beach: 4 percent
Fort Worth: 3.6 percent