The average rent for a 3 bedroom house in Seattle, WA is $1,777.00. When you receive your requested free market assessment, compare the average rent to what a property manager expects your property to rent for before making your decision on which manager to hire.

Seattle, WA Rental Market Overview

Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by pristine waterways, two mountain ranges and three national parks. Its coastal location and the establishment of the Port of Seattle have long contributed to the city's success as a major economic center. Meanwhile, Seattle's natural beauty has attracted some of the most iconic Fortune 500 companies of the past decade, including.Amazon.com, Costco, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Nordstrom. Driven by growth in the technology sector, Seattle has maintained a relatively strong economy even through the recession.

Demand for Seattle Rentals is on the Rise

Seattle's comparative prosperity continuously attracts a steady stream of people to the region, spurring demand for rental properties. With median house prices 40 percent higher than the national average, property ownership is out of reach for a large portion of Seattle's population, including the region's steady influx of new employees. Pair this with the fact that while new job creation is trending upwards, construction of new rental housing units has declined by nearly 80% in recent years, and you have the makings of an increasingly tight rental market. Owners of existing rental units have lately been able to raise rents substantially in response to rising demand.

Seattle Neighborhood Geography

Perhaps the best way to describe Seattle neighborhoods is by starting from the retail core, but it isn't easy. Unlike most American cities, some Seattle neighborhoods lack specific boundaries. There are overlaps and omissions on maps printed by realty companies or documents produced by community councils. A good example of this cartological confusion starts directly north of downtown, where the urban neighborhoods of Eastlake, Belltown and Denny Triangle sometimes overlap or vanish from local reference materials. For instance, some recent maps erase the old Denny Triangle and replace it with an expanded Eastlake, a neighborhood that extends north along the eastern shores of Lake Union. Other maps--and even community blogs--combine Belltown with the Denny Triangle and call it the Denny Regrade. "Regrade" harkens back to a massive sluicing project in the early 1900s that washed away one of the Seattle's original seven hills. When it comes to neighborhood names, Seattle locals know the synonyms while tourists ask for clarifications or directions.

Whether you call it the Denny Regrade, the Denny Triangle or Eastlake and Belltown, continue further north you'll find the Seattle Center neighborhood in the shadow of the Space Needle and a hill too high to be washed away: Queen Anne Hill. At 456 feet it's Seattle's second-highest hill and home to almost 30,000 inhabitants. West of Queen Anne is the Magnolia district, a hilly peninsula comprised of the Briarcliff, Lawton Park and Southeast Magnolia neighborhoods. Lawton Park is on the grounds of the former Fort Lawton, an army base that existed here from 1900 to 2011.

North of Magnolia and across the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Chittenden Locks are the overlapping neighborhoods of Ballard and Fremont. Despite the surge of upscale condominiums and trendy musical venues, Ballard remains closely associated with Seattle's Scandinavian settlers and seafaring community. Just east of here is Fremont, a neighborhood that abounds in artistic counterculture. Fremont's most memorable statuary includes a refurbished Vladimir Lenin monument and a car-smashing troll sculpture beneath the north side of the Aurora Bridge. The quirky creativity of this region dovetails nicely with nearby Wallingford, Ravenna, Green Lake and the University District, all appealing neighborhoods that offer an extensive range of off-campus housing options for students attending the nearby University of Washington.

North of Green Lake is the Northgate district, an area made up of four neighborhoods: Haller Lake, Maple Leaf, Pinehurst and Licton Springs/North College Park. Haller Lake is one of Seattle's northernmost neighborhoods, bordered by Broadview on the west and Lake City to the east. Below Lake City and extending along the shores of Lake Washington are Hawthorne Hills--sometimes labeled Windermere or overlapped with an area with the same name--and Laurelhurst. Both of these affluent neighborhoods have the highest median household incomes in Seattle.

Return to Seattle's retail core and you'll find more neighborhoods directly to the east on two more hills: First Hill and Capitol Hill. The steep slopes create astounding sunset views of the city and Puget Sound to the west and/or rosy sunrises over Bellevue and the Cascade Range to the east. Residents--especially seniors--often refer to First Hill as Pill Hill after visiting the numerous health care facilities and clinics around the crest. In the early 1900s this neighborhood was home to affluent residents and featured numerous Victorian manors and stately Tudor homes. While modern construction displaced or replaced First Hill's oldest architecture, visitors can still find an abundance of mature trees and venerable estates throughout Capitol Hill. Further east of these two hills are the waterfront neighborhoods of Madison Park and Madison Valley. Washington Park, Denny-Blaine (sometimes called Harrison) and Leshi are often lumped into the Madison Valley district as one highly affluent neighborhood.

Just south and within walking distance of Seattle's retail core is Pioneer Square, one of the two oldest neighborhoods in the city. Further east from here is the Chinatown-International District and Seattle's Central District (or Central Area). Around the 1920s strict housing covenants containing racial restrictions limited minorities to these two areas, creating two of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Seattle. In recent years market pressure and increased housing costs have diluted some of this diversity, although the decades of influence on architecture remain. South of the International District is Georgetown, the only rival to Pioneer Square for venerability. Georgetown is part of the Duwamish River Industrial District and features more area--or sprawl--than Pioneer Square. Commercial interest resulted in a recent community revival that continues to evolve with bars, restaurants, boutiques and coffee houses.

West of Georgetown are the districts of West Seattle and Delridge, which is make up two dozen tiny neighborhoods--so many that we only cover a few here. The High Point neighborhood in Delridge is 520 feet above sea level and the highest point in the Seattle metro area. Recent renovations and redevelopment resulted in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city with a significant number of immigrants from East Africa and Southeast Asia. At the northernmost tip of the district is the neighborhood of Alki Point, a beachfront neighborhood that remains one of the most popular local destinations throughout the summer months. Far to the south is the neighborhood of Fauntleroy, a daily destination for Washington State Ferry commuters who make their way between West Seattle and Vashon Island or the Kitsap Peninsula.

East of Georgetown is the district of Southeast Seattle/Rainier Valley. These two place names are frequently used in an interchangeable manner that confuses everyone except long-term residents. Although the region was annexed to Seattle in the early 1900s, most of these neighborhoods feature older homes that were shortly built after World War II. A number of Rainier Valley communities have aliases, including Rainier View (also called Lakeridge), Rainier Beach (also called Atlantic City Beach) and Dunlap (sometimes known as Othello). Most Rainier Valley neighborhoods are primarily residential, but Columbia City is sometimes defined as an urban village with pedestrian enhancements and unique ethnic and income diversity. North of Columbia City is the shoreline neighborhood of Mount Baker, while the Lakewood and Seward Park waterfront communities border Columbia City to the south.

Seattle Property Management Companies Can Help

With many Seattle property investors taking advantage of rising home prices and the hot rental market, professional property management has become increasingly important. Seattle property management companies help investors maximize returns on their income properties, while also attracting and keeping the highest quality tenants.

Seattle Rental Market at a Glance

The vacancy rate of the greater area of Seattle, Washington (population: 3,552,157) has declined since its peak of 8.5% in the third quarter of 2010 to 4.6% for the beginning of 2013. The median rent has increased since its 2010 price of $1,602 and is currently at $1,754. The median family income is currently $58,890 and the median home price is $361,000.

Vacancy rates and population estimates taken from census.gov/housing
Rent data from HUD.gov
Median family income and price from CNNMoney.com
Percentage of renters reported by City-data.com

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