CoreLogic's latest report says single-family rental prices had 0.4 percent annual growth in Seattle this February, a slowdown that may potentially ease the area's tight for-sale market.
Granted, Seattle still has some of the highest rental prices in the nation, topping $2,700 per month. Local experts believe that the influx of new apartment units in the Emerald City have lured renters away from single-family home rentals, dampening demand in that sector. The Seattle Times reports that the data back this up, as the share of homes available to rent is up 20 percent YOY. Real estate reporter Mike Rosenberg writes that as single-family rentals may no longer yield the same returns of years gone by, some landlords may begin selling properties, which in turn could ease the crunch of Seattle's for-sale market.
“One, two, three years ago, we would literally have people move out and we’d be there to do a quick cleaning, and change the locks, and have someone literally move in a couple hours later. We didn’t lose a day of rent,” said Chris Benis, who rents out a dozen houses on the Eastside. Some tenants would even rent houses sight unseen. But in the last couple months, two of his houses became vacant and drew just one tenant application each, and it took about a month to rent out each house.
