Seattle Rental Property Registration Update: City Adds Only 27 Units

According to the latest data from Seattle’s Rental Property Registration database, Seattle continues to experience a decline in rental housing with a net loss of 3,050 properties and 9,759 units since May 2021.

During that time, just 27 rental units were added to the market. 

Of the properties lost, 2,401 were single family homes which are typically owned by small, individual housing providers. Over the last five years, Seattle has enacted 39 new ordinances that, taken together, significantly increase the risk to small housing providers while increasing their costs. The result is an ongoing departure of rental housing as people sell and leave the market. These homes typically become owner occupied, rather than continuing as a rental.

RHA and WMFHA release periodic updates on Seattle’s rental housing progress by analyzing new and lapsed registrations in the RRIO database.