Redfin: Seattle sees third-highest year-over-year increase in asking rent in the country
SEATTLE — The Emerald City boasts the third-fastest-rising rent year over year in the country, according to a new report from Redfin.
The Seattle-based real estate company found the median monthly asking rent in the United States in May surpassed $2,000 a month for the first time, up 15.2 percent year over year and 2 percent month over month.
Seattle, Austin, Nashville and Cincinnati all saw increases of more than 30 percent since last year. The median asking rent in Seattle is $3,097 per month, according to Redfin.
Austin leads the country with a 48-percent surge in median asking rent year over year, followed by Nashville (32), Seattle (32) and Cincinnati (32), Miami (29), Fort Lauderdale (29), West Palm Beach, Fla. (29) and New York (24).
Milwaukee (-10), Kansas City (-3) and Minneapolis (-3) were the only metros that saw declines in asking rent.
Household bills
In addition to rent and mortgages, Washingtonians are paying more for all household bills than most other states.
According to a report from doxo, a Seattle-based software company, Washington is the ninth-most expensive state in the country for household bills, which include rent/mortgage, car loan, car insurance, utilities, internet and cable, cell phone, health insurance and more.
Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New York and Alaska rank Nos. 1-8, respectively.
Nebraska, Alabama, New Mexico, South Dakota and Oklahoma, respectively, are the five least expensive states for household bills.
The doxo report also listed the average cost of monthly bills in Seattle:
- Car loan: $480
- Car insurance: $186
- Utilities (electric, gas, water, sewer and garbage): $406
- Health insurance: $90
- Internet/cable: $107
- Mobile phone: $96
- Alarm and security: $80
- Life insurance: $61
Housing market
As inventory continues to climb, homebuyers are backing off, affecting the housing market both nationally and in Seattle. Tours, offers, mortgage applications and other requests for homebuying needs fell 12 percent last week, according to Redfin's homebuyer demand index measurement. New listings fell 2 percent over the four-week period, Redfin said, and 21 percent of sellers dropped their original list price.
“Sellers are losing control of the housing market as homes that are overpriced and/or less desirable are increasingly having price reductions and taking longer to sell,” Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr said in the company's latest report. “Although demand is easing, some homebuyers may jump back into the market when price growth loses steam and interest rates continue to stabilize. A strong labor market will continue to be a driving force for the bulk homebuying demand this year.“
According to the report, the number of people who searched "homes for sale" on Google during the week ending June 4 was down 10 percent from a year ago.
The report also found pending home sales were down 8 percent year over year.