Apartment rents are up 13.5% in Kent compared to the same time last year, according to the October rental rate report by apartmentlist.com.
Rents were up just 1% over the past month, but took a big jump compared to October 2020. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 16.6%, as well as the national average of 15.8%.
Currently, median rents in Kent stand at $1,477 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,890 for a two-bedroom. This is the ninth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in January.
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in Kent, but across the entire Seattle metro area, according to apartmentlist.com.
Bellevue has the most expensive rents in the Seattle metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $2,534; the city has also seen rent growth of 19.4% over the past year, the highest in the metro area.
Over the past month, Redmond has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro, with a decline of 0.7%. Median two-bedrooms there cost $2,499, while one-bedrooms go for $2,226.
Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $1,600; rents increased 0.1% over the past month and 16.8% over the past year.
As rents have increased sharply in Kent, a few large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly. Compared to most large cities across the country, Kent is less affordable for renters.
Rents increased sharply in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 16.6% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 29.8% in Spokane and 14.7% in Vancouver.
Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,890 is above the national average of $1,285. Nationwide, rents have grown by 15.8% over the past year compared to the 13.5% rise in Kent.
While Kent’s rents rose sharply over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix up 27.4%, Austin 24.2% and New York up 18.9%.
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