This story is presented as part of this week’s New to Town issue.
Hello, new person. As you probably know by now, you have moved to one of the most expensive housing markets in the country.
Median Seattle renters are now paying $1,448 a month, up $92 from 2015, according to census data analyzed by the Seattle Times. But the market feels more expensive than that because many of the new apartment buildings coming online or showing up on Craigslist are far more expensive than that. According to various measures, rent ranges from $1,300 to $1,800 a month for a one bedroom. Think you might buy a house or condo instead? Good luck. The median Seattle home now costs $725,000, and a recent report found that households need to make $93,400 or more a year to afford mortgage payments.
Nearly half of Seattleites are now renting. Renting has its drawbacks, but the good news is that some people are trying, however incrementally, to make renting in Seattle suck less. There is no rent control here (it’s against the law), but you do have new rights you should know about, like limits on rent increases if your landlord lets your apartment turn into a hellhole, or required payment plans if your landlord charges high move-in fees.
