Kent apartment rent trends flat in January

Kent apartment rents increased just 0.1% in January from the previous month but are up 2.4% compared to January 2019.

Median rents in Kent stand at $1,498 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,866 for a two-bedroom, according to the monthly report by apartmentlist.com. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.9%, as well as the national average of 1.6%.

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Kent, but across the entire Seattle-Tacoma metro area.

Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,505; the city has also experienced the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 3.8%.

Over the past month, Auburn has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro area, with a decline of 0.5%. Median two-bedrooms there cost $1,702, while one-bedrooms go for $1,367.

Many large cities nationwide show more affordable rents compared to Kent

As rents have increased moderately in Kent, a few large cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly. Compared to most large cities across the country, Kent is less affordable for renters.

Rents increased slightly in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 1.9% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 1.5% in Vancouver and 1.5% in Spokane.

Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,866 is above the national average of $1,193. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.6% over the past year compared to the 2.4% increase in Kent.

While Kent’s rents rose moderately over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+3.7%), Austin (+3.3%), and Washington,D.C. (+1.8%).

Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median 2BR rent of $898, where Kent is more than twice that price.