Kent apartment rents jumped 1.3% in August, and are up sharply by 10.8% in comparison to the same time last year.
Currently, median rents in Kent stand at $1,421 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,819 for a two-bedroom unit, according to apartmentlist.com. This is the sixth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in February. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 10%, but trails the national average of 12.4%.
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in Kent, but across the entire Seattle-Tacoma metro area.
Tacoma has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro area, with a year-over-year increase of 18%. The median two-bedroom there costs $1,649, while one-bedrooms go for $1,257.
Redmond has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $2,510; rents increased 2.8% over the past month and 11.8% over the past year.
Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $1,583; rents grew 1.9% over the past month and 16.0% 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 10% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 31.2% in Spokane and 14.3% in Vancouver.
Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,819 is above the national average of $1,246. Nationwide, rents have grown by 12.4% over the past year compared to the 10.8% rise in Kent.
While Kent’s rents rose sharply over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+22.9%), Austin (+19.2%), and New York (+14.4%).
Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median two-bedroom rent of $1,375.
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