Right now, the biggest issue in Tacoma is something that Seattle’s been dealing with for years: Our population is increasing, and we’re not adding nearly enough housing units.
In addition to people moving to Tacoma from outside the area, Tacomans in their 20s and 30s are coming of age and looking for properties to rent or buy and finding very little inventory to choose from. The News Tribune article “Tacoma apartment rents see steep rise in 2016, data show” (January 27, 2017) breaks down the numbers, if you’re interested.
Here are a few takeaways from the article:
- It’s expected that more than 3,500 apartment units will be added to Pierce County as a whole through 2019. However, if our current trends continue, approximately 21,000 new residents are projected to move to Pierce County by the end of 2019 as well.
- In December 2016, rents for apartments in Tacoma were up 10.5% from 2015.
How much does it actually cost to rent in Tacoma, then?
“When I moved to Tacoma in 2006, my studio apartment cost about $500/month to rent, and my parking space was $50/month. Now 10 years later, that same studio is renting for $975/month and the parking is $100/month,” shared Marguerite Giguere. This News Tribune article we mentioned above takes a close look at price in Tacoma and neighboring cities as well.
Curious about how we compare to Seattle?
Back in March of 2016, the Puget Sound Business Journal published an article on rising rents in Tacoma. Here are a few of the takeaways from the article:
- Rent in Tacoma is increasing faster than in Seattle. As of January 2016, rent growth in Seattle was at 7.3% year-over-year. In January 2016, rent growth in Tacoma was up 9%. This is most likely due to people being priced out of Seattle and needing to move to markets with lower prices, like Tacoma.
- As of January 2016, rents were 41% lower in Tacoma than Seattle. In January 2016, the average apartment rent in Tacoma was $1,171, while the average apartment rent in Seattle was $1,649.
Job growth is another part of the reason for the climbing prices in both Seattle and Tacoma; for a more in-depth look at what is happening with rentals, read “Think Seattle apartment rents are rising fast? Check out what’s going on in Tacoma” here.
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[content_box title=”Want help finding a rental in Tacoma?” icon=”fa-home” backgroundcolor=”” iconcolor=”” circlecolor=”” circlebordercolor=”” circlebordercolorsize=”” outercirclebordercolor=”” outercirclebordercolorsize=”” iconrotate=”” iconspin=”no” image=”” image_width=”35″ image_height=”35″ link=”https://movetotacoma.com/rental-guide-to-tacoma/” linktarget=”_self” linktext=”Check out the Move to Tacoma Rental guide!” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″]Renting a house or an apartment in Tacoma can be a bit of a pain. We’re not going to sugarcoat this for you. At this time, there is no system for you to just call up an agent and work with a person that has access to all of the rentals on the market. The Tacoma area rental market is still a DIY affair. Most people still find rentals here in 3 ways. Here they are, along with a 4th we recommend.[/content_box]
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