Kent apartment rents up for eighth straight month

Apartment rents in Kent increased 0.9 percent in June compared to the previous month and are up by 3.8 percent compared to the same time last year.

Median monthly rents in Kent stand at $1,460 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,820 for a two-bedroom, according to apartmentlist.com. This is the eighth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in October 2017. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 0.9 percent, as well as the national average of 1.4 percent.

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

Federal Way has seen the fastest rent growth, with a year-over-year increase of 7 percent. The median two-bedroom there costs $1,730, while one-bedrooms go for $1,390.

Bellevue has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,330; rents were up 0.5 percent over the past month but remained flat year-over-year.

Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $1,430; rents were up 0.6 percent over the past month and 5.1 percent over the past year.

As rents have increased moderately in Kent, a few large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly, or in some cases, even decline. 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 0.9 percent over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 3.1 percent in Vancouver and 0.7 percent in Spokane.

Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,820 is above the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.4 percent over the past year compared to the 3.8 percent rise in Kent.