Demand Shines in Seattle
The metro’s multifamily rent growth continues to outpace the national average, due to healthy demographic trends, steady job gains and escalating household formation.
Seattle rent evolution, click to enlarge
Seattle continues to be one of the strongest multifamily markets in the country, due to its substantial population growth and solid employment. Despite tapering over the past two years, the metro’s rent growth was still above the national average, due to high demand from healthy demographic trends and escalating household formation.
Downtown Seattle’s construction boom has served as a magnet for white-collar workers, while also motivating more companies to settle in the area. The metro added 45,700 jobs last year, buoyed by a thriving technology sector. Trade, transportation and utilities also grew, along with construction and business services. Expanding the city’s office pipeline, CRG will develop a 1.6 million-square-foot, institutional-quality business park on the site of the former Intel campus. Redmond—home to Microsoft’s headquarters— plans to accommodate significant urban growth in the Overlake area through a 170-acre transit-oriented project. Manufacturing is the only sector to lose jobs last year, amid growing concerns that new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum could jeopardize more jobs in the state.
As long as major technology companies maintain a robust hiring pace, demand for rentals across Puget Sound should remain heightened. Yardi Matrix expects rent growth of 4.8 percent by year-end.
