Kent apartment rents up 4.3 percent over last year

Apartment rents in Kent are up 4.3 percent compared to the same time last year.

Rents were up 0.3 percent in October compared to the previous month, according to apartmentlist.com. Median rents in Kent stand at $1,450 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,810 for a two-bedroom. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth of 4.3 percent leads the state average of 1.2 percent, as well as the national average of 1.1 percent.

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in Kent, but across the entire Seattle metro area. Nine of the 10 cities where stats were compiled have seen prices rise.

• Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $1,440; additionally, the city has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro area over the past month (0.9 percent).

• Over the past year, Seattle proper is the only city in the metro that has seen rents fall, with a decline of 1.3 percent. Median two-bedrooms there cost $1,660, while one-bedrooms go for $1,340.

• Bellevue has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,350; rents fell 0.7 percent over the past month but rose 2.7 percent over the past year.

As rents have increased significantly 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 slightly in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 1.2 percent over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 1.4 percent in Spokane and Vancouver.

Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median 2-bedroom rent of $890, where Kent is more than twice that price.