Tacoma rents still rising, just not as fast. Latest data show how market is changing
New data show rent rates not growing as swiftly as in the past, but that slowdown is a mere drop in comparison to how much rates have risen in the past few years.
Rents in Tacoma, while they can bring sticker shock compared with rates pre-pandemic, are 16.5 percent lower than the Seattle metro median, according to a new report from online rental marketplace and data analytics firm Apartment List.
The report said that for Tacoma specifically, the median monthly rent for the market was $1,480, after rising 0.7% last month. Rent rates are down 4.8% year-over-year but have risen a total of 18.6% since March 2020.
When looking at the wider Seattle metro area and the total market, Apartment List showed the median rent for the area at $1,771, “meaning that the median price in Tacoma ($1,480) is 16.5% lower than the price across the metro as a whole.”
It added, “The median rent in Tacoma is 8.1% higher than the national, and is similar to the prices you would find in Mesa, Arizona, ($1,481) and Irving, Texas ($1,469).”
Drilling down, Tacoma median rents for a one-bedroom unit was listed at $1,177 and $1,503 for a two-bedroom, according to the report. It noted. “Lakewood is the metro’s most affordable city, with a median rent of $1,365.”
Apartment List also noted its data showed “year-over-year rent growth nationally fell to zero for the first time since the early pandemic.”
Separately, Realtor.com reported that in May, the U.S. rental market as a whole “experienced its first year-over-year decline in our data history, down 0.5% for 0-2 bedroom properties across the top 50 metros.” It noted that the nation’s Western states were “cooling faster” than Northeast states. It pointed to a slower labor rebound on the West Coast as compared to the Northeast.
“As a result, the stronger labor market in the Northeast may contribute to an increased demand for rentals, making it more competitive compared to the rental market in the West,” the report said.
It added that the increase in the number of new rental units in the West “could also dampen the competition.”
“In the first quarter of 2023, non-single family homes were completed at an annual rate of 147,000 in the West, nearly doubling (84%) the pace in the same time last year,” it stated. “In contrast, the Northeast market saw non-single family homes completed at 60,000 units, a rate that was 40% higher than the same time last year, but a much slower growth than its western peers.”
In Tacoma, one way to measure the current pace of development is to look at the number of multifamily property tax exemptions received by developers, as nearly all apartment projects in the city apply for them.
As of July 1, 13 have been approved this year, according to City Council’s legislation portal online, with the two most recent receiving MFTE approvals from City Council in June.
In comparison, 21 had been approved by July 2022.
This story was originally published July 3, 2023 at 2:06 PM.
