Rents up, vacancies steady
This is a good time to be a Washington landlord, according to a recently released report, which shows that apartment rents are rising around the state, while vacancy rates remain stable. The report was developed by data collected from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research in Pullman, and Dupree + Scott, a Seattle-based consultancy for rental property investors. It found that landlords – who took a beating during the housing bubble, as more and more tenants found themselves qualified for mortgages – are getting some back. The statewide vacancy rate (at least as far as the 18 counties surveyed) is 4.1 percent, less than half the national average of 10.7 percent. The rental market typically is tied to the job market – when major employers are hiring (Microsoft, Boeing) they bring in workers from outside the region, and those people have to live somewhere. And with the upheaval we’ve had in the real estate markets, more people are opting to rent. Read More…
