Good news: Tacoma median rents cheaper than Bellevue. Bad news: They’re still rising
Rents are still climbing in Tacoma, not just for market rate but for rates approved as part of the city’s 12-year multifamily property tax exemption program.
Apartment List’s May report for Tacoma, which looks back at April, shows that rents in Tacoma were up 1.1 percent month-over-month, compared with 0.9 percent increase nationally. It was the second straight month of increases, following a dip in February.
Apartment List says median rents in Tacoma are at $1,245 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,633 for a two-bedroom.
Month-over-month growth in Tacoma’s rents ranks 48th among the nation’s 100 largest cities, according to the report.
“Year-over-year rent growth in Tacoma currently stands at 8.4 percent, compared to 11.1 percent at this time last year,” it noted.
That compares with the state average of 16.4 percent year over year, and the national average of 16.3 percent.
Tacoma rents are up 19.4 percent from March 2020, the start of the pandemic, it added.
In April’s comparison of Seattle-area metro median rents for two-bedroom apartments, only Lakewood was less expensive than Tacoma, at $1,560. Bellevue was the most expensive, at $2,650.
Bellevue “has also seen rent growth of 21.5 percent over the past year, the fastest in the metro,” the report noted.
Separately, the maximum rent rates allowed under the affordable portion of apartments developed using Tacoma’s 12-year MFTEs have gone up in accordance with a higher median income assigned for the area.
The 12-year MFTE calls for at least 20 percent of units developed using it to qualify as “affordable.”
The rates are tied to U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s area median incomes, which in 2022 now lists at $101,800 for a family of four.
Last year, the AMI was $91,100 for a family of four.
This pushes maximum rents allowed up anywhere from $152-$220 more than the previous rates at 80 percent AMI, and $131-$188 higher at 70 percent.
The Tacoma City Council last year changed the 12-year MFTE affordable rate to 70 percent of Pierce County AMI as reported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for affordable housing units.
That change went into effect March 14, but MFTE applications filed before that date are vested at the 80 percent version.
Debbie Bingham, project manager with the city’s Economic Development Services Department presented one of those projects at Tuesday’s session that council ultimately approved.
During the presentation for the development of eight market-rate and three rent-restricted studio units at 1009 S. 14th Street, she noted the new rate for the affordable units, which put a 415-square-foot rent-restricted studio at up to $1,425, including utility allowance.
Granted, the rates are a snapshot in time for developers in projects that may not come on line for three years, but the rise is another example of the pressure rent rates overall are facing.
“Last year, the maximum rent for a studio could would have been $1,273,” Bingham told the council.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
