Kent apartment rents increased 0.7 percent May, and have increased moderately by 2.4 percent in comparison to the same time last year.
Median rents in Kent stand at $1,480 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,840 for a two-bedroom, according to a press release from apartmentlist.com. This is the second straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in March. Kent’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.8 percent, as well as the national average of 1.5 percent.
Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Kent, but across the entire Seattle metro area. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Seattle metro, all of them have seen prices rise.
Lakewood has the least expensive rents in the region, with a two-bedroom median of $1,470; the city has also experienced the fastest rent growth with a year-over-year increase of 4.0 percent.
Bellevue has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Seattle metro, with a two-bedroom median of $2,380; rents were up 0.4 percent over the past month and 2.3 percent over the past year.
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 slightly in other cities across the state, with Washington as a whole logging rent growth of 1.8 percent over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 1.9 percent in Vancouver and 1.3 percent in Spokane.
Kent’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,840 is above the national average of $1,190. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.5 percent over the past year compared to the 2.4 percent increase in Kent.
While Kent’s rents rose moderately over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (3.9 percent), Austin (3.6 percent), and Washington, D.C. (2.2 percent).
Renters will generally find more expensive prices in Kent than most large cities. For example, Spokane has a median 2BR rent of $890, where Kent is more than twice that price.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
