Seattle apartments keep getting smaller
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Seattle has some of the tiniest apartments in the U.S. and they're getting smaller, according to new data from RentCafe. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Bigger apartments are coming back — unless you live in Seattle.
Why it matters: In most American cities, developers are adding rooms to apartments for people who want more space while they postpone buying a house or work from home.
- But in Seattle, as well as Portland, apartments are getting smaller, according to a recent report from rental listing website RentCafe.
Zoom in: The average new apartment in Seattle was 661 square feet in 2023, a decrease of 3.6% over the last decade, per RentCafe.
- Among the 55% of households that rent in the city, the average monthly rent is $2,227, per RentCafe.
Reality check: Even with smaller apartments, our region's youngest and oldest renters are feeling the squeeze, with nearly two-thirds of Gen Z tenants and 61% of renters over age 65 spending at least 30% of their income on rent, according to 2023 census data.
Follow the money: Apartment rent in the metro area varies depending on several factors, including location, size and quality, with Belltown and the Central Waterfront commanding average rents of $2,634 and $2,522, respectively. Innis Arden, Richmond Beach and The Highlands are going for about $1,643, per the RentCafe data.
Zoom out: The average U.S. apartment built in 2023 measured 916 square feet, a 27-square-foot rebound from the previous year.
- Apartments shrank in 2022 to the smallest on average since at least 2014, according to the report.
State of play: A flood of new, typically pricey apartments have been built in recent years nationwide.
- More two- and three-bedroom rentals hit the market last year, pushing up the national average size, but one-bedroom floor plans continue to dominate, RentCafe found.
- Two- and three-bedroom apartments "have been adding more floor space in the last decade, while studios and one-bedroom apartments ... have been getting more and more compact," RentCafe's report notes.
Yes, but: Micro apartments may be one of the "best things to happen to the planet," according to Architectural Digest, and some Seattleites are embracing the tiny living movement.
What we're watching: High interest rates and the rising costs of labor and materials forced developers to pull back on apartment projects throughout the West Coast last year, according to data on construction starts from CoStar Group, a real estate information company.
- Many proposed apartment projects in the region are waiting for the economy to improve, Elliott Krivenko, CoStar's Seattle analyst, told Axios earlier this year.