According to The Seattle Times a new report from Apartment Insights/RealData is showing apartment rents dropping 1.1% from the third to fourth quarter, the second-biggest quarterly drop this decade. The city ranked fourth in apartment building last year trailing only New York, Los Angeles and Dallas - all more populated cities. Data indicates that 1 in 10 units across the city are now sitting empty.
Landlords have responded by lowering rents slightly and offering more perks to get tenants in the door. When factoring in concessions landlords are offering to lure tenants, like a free month’s rent, the actual amount renters paid dropped 1.4 percent in the past quarter, or $24 a month.
Those incentives are now commonplace at new buildings and becoming more prominent in older complexes that are also struggling to fill up their units. Some property managers are even offering mystery gifts to those who agree to just show up for a tour. The market is cooling the most in the priciest parts of the region. On the Eastside, rents dipped 2.5 percent, or nearly $50, in the last quarter, while rents remained virtually unchanged in South King County and Snohomish County.
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