Seattle-Tacoma Multifamily
Market Report

Rentals help fill housing shortfall. Projections call for Seattle needing 17,000 new homes every year over the next two decades to meet current levels of housing demand. However, under 3,100 single-family permits were issued in 2023, indicating homebuilders will continue to fall short of the metro's needs. Fortunately, King and Snohomish counties collectively expect the delivery of over 11,500 apartments in 2024. Recent data suggests these units will garner demand from households that are on the home-buying sidelines. Over the last year, the metro's Class A vacancy rate held steady amid the completion of 9,600 units, with areas posting the loftiest home values generally containing below-average apartment vacancies for this reason. Local vacancy rates in Redmond, West Bellevue-Mercer Island and East Bellevue-Issaquah were under 5.5 percent in March, due in part to mean local home prices exceeding $1 million.