Kent rents have increased 0.9% over the past month, and are up moderately by 2.1% in comparison to the same time last year.
Currently, median rents in Kent stand at $1,484 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,848 for a two-bedroom, according to the latest report from apartmentlist.com. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.8%, as well as the national average of 1.4%.
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in Kent, but across the entire Seattle-Tacoma metro area.
Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,505; the city has also experienced the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 4.6%.
Over the past month, Tacoma has seen the biggest rent drop in the metro area, with a decline of 1.1%. Median two-bedrooms there cost $1,562, while one-bedrooms go for $1,254.
Bellevue has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro area, with a two-bedroom median of $2,419; rents were up 2.9% over the past year but remained flat month-over-month.
As rents have increased moderately in Kent, a few large cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly. Compared to most large cities across the country, Kent is less affordable for renters.
Rents increased moderately in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 1.8% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 2.2% in Spokane and 2.1% in Vancouver.
Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,848 is above the national average of $1,191. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.4% over the past year compared to the 2.1% rise in Kent.
While Kent’s rents rose moderately over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+4.0%), Austin (+3.2%), and Boston (+2.3%).
Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median 2BR rent of $910, where Kent is more than twice that price.
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