Six Ways to Boast About Multifamily at Holiday Parties

When the subject of Seattle multifamily fundamentals comes up at your company Christmas party--as it does every year--read this list and you’ll know your stuff. Thank Santa Colliers International research whiz Dylan Simon and his staff.

"The Seattle apartment market has amazing momentum," Dylan tells us, fueled by jobs. (Dylan's snapped with colleagues Dave Schumacher and David Mortensen touring Holland's Union SLU in South Lake Union.) Tech jobs are strong in Seattle and Bellevue; Kirkland and Bothell did well, too. Some fundamentals:

1) Regional rental rates increased 6.6% this year; 5% when excluding new developments.

2) Year-over-year, King County multifamily rents were up 7.5%, Snohomish County up 5.7%, and Pierce County up 3.1%.

3) The average Downtown Seattle apartment unit fetches $1,741 a month, up 5.5% since last year.

Dylan says the No. 1 surprise among submarkets is how strong Bothell is as a multifamily market--it's No. 3 in rental cumulative rent growth (since 2001; West Bellevue was first, followed by Kirland). More fundamentals:

4) The King, Snohomish, and Pierce county multifamily vacancy rates are 3.8%, 4.2%. and 4.3% respectively--every one of them historic lows.

5) Seattle's CBD multifamily vacancy rate's even lower: 3.1%.

6) 22,000 units are under construction marketwide. About 7,500 units came on line this year--the most since 1991. Nearly 90% of multifamily development's in King County.