Tacoma-area apartment vacancies drop while rents rise

Apartment vacancies: down.

Apartment rents: up.

The current apartment vacancy rate in Pierce County fell from 4.51 percent to 3.81 percent over the second quarter, according to Tom Cain of the firm Apartment Insights.

One year ago, the county vacancy rate was 5.11 percent.

The lowest vacancy rate in county, at 3.3 percent, can be found in the Tacoma North Central market, Cain stated in a release. Fife and Gig Harbor follow closely.

Puyallup sees the county’s highest vacancy rate, at 4.12 percent.

Apartment rentals in the three-county region comprising Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston counties jumped $31 to an average $961 per month per unit, or $1.11 per foot. Rents have increased each quarter for the past two years in the region, and are up 6.3 percent over the past year, Cain reported.

In Pierce County for the quarter, apartment rentals have increased $28 per month to $957, and have marked an increase of some 6.2 percent over the past year. Rents in the Gig Harbor market increased nearly 10 percent over the quarter.

Rents are up by $48 per month in Kitsap County, and $24 in Thurston County.

Cain reported that 940 units are under construction in the three-county area, with most seen in Pierce County. Another 1,282 units have completed the design review process in the region, and another 2,507 units are in earlier stages of design.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 9:10 AM with the headline "Tacoma-area apartment vacancies drop while rents rise."