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Rental development in Seattle, click to enlarge
Following national trends, Seattle fundamentals continued to improve in the second quarter. In May, rents rose 0.4 percent over the past three months to $ 1,813, above the US average of $ 1,428. As Gateway markets gradually rebound, Yardi Matrix expects Seattle earnings to pick up over the summer.
READ THE FULL YARDI MATRIX REPORT
Sales volume and number of properties sold in Seattle, click to enlarge
In the twelve months to March, the metro lost 92,300 jobs, a decrease of 6.8 percent. However, there were three sectors that grew: Information, Construction and Professional Services added a total of 11,100 jobs. In April, unemployment was 5.4 percent in Washington and 5.7 percent in the Seattle metropolitan area, both below the US rate of 6.1 percent in April. While Mayor Jenny Durkan and the city council drafted a bailout plan to stimulate the economy, $ 631 million in federal stimulus funds were allocated to King County and $ 128 million in direct aid to Seattle.
Seattle had 25,255 rental units under construction in May, 74 percent of them in upscale projects. Almost a third of the pipeline is expected to go online by the end of the year. As the market suffered during the downturn, occupancy in stabilized real estate fell 110 basis points in the 12 months ended April, a sharp drop but relatively in line with other major coastal metropolises. Meanwhile, sales got off to a moderate start in 2021, with around 1,500 units trading for $ 596 million in the first five months of the year.
Read the full Yardi Matrix report.
