Rental Housing Journal On-Site
June 2015 - Vol. 9 Issue 06
3. Real Estate: What’s In It For Me?
11. WMFHA: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
4. Behind the Leasing Desk
12. WROA: Culminated In a Success
5. Seattle Rent Trend
13. Ask the Secret Shopper
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Puget Sound Apartment Owners, Property Managers & Maintenance Personnel
Published in association with: Washington Apartment Association, IREM & Washington Multifamily Housing Association
Can You Handle the Truth About Apartment Rents?
Market Overview :
Multifamily Housing Update Red Capital Group Seattle 1Q15
he average apartment rent in Seattle rose 8.3% in the past year. That’s a lot. No doubt about it. It beats inflation. It beats wage growth. So some in the media and special interest groups take to calling this a problem of skyrocketing rents, a crisis, an emergency. Is it really? Let’s take a look. First, let me say this about that. That type of hyperbole is misleading at best. And it is dishonest at worst. Next, that 8.3% rent increase compares rents last year with rents this year. That’s fine, except for one thing. Developers opened a lot of new apartments in the past year. And new units have more features and continued on page 16
Setting Rules to Create a Safe and Enjoyable Community
PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Albany, OR Permit #188
1Q15 Payroll Trends And Forecast Jet City employers continued to add workers to payrolls at a blistering pace, increasing metro headcounts at a 51,000-job, 3.4% year-onyear rate, up from 4Q14’s 48,500-job performance.. Faster hiring in the construction and business services sectors was largely responsible, fueled by a surge in multifamily housing development and rapid staff expansion among technology serviccontinued on page 6
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Apartment Rent Trends In Seattle
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Marijuana/Tobacco Housing
Professional Publishing, Inc PO Box 30327 Portland, OR 97294-3327
moke-free housing policies are on the rise in Washington. As a property owner or manager, you already have policies that protect your investments, like screening tenants and setting rules to create a safe and enjoyable community. If you haven’t implemented a nosmoking rule yet, chances are you know landlords who have. These rules prohibit smoking inside resident units and on patios and balconies, in common areas and within a certain distance of buildings. Smoke-
free policies save money by lowering operating costs and insurance premiums, increase your property’s market value and protect your residents’ health. If you’re thinking about implementing a new no-smoking rule, there are resources that can help. See the end of this article for more information. But what about marijuana? Like tobacco, a no-smoking policy doesn’t mean that you can’t rent to people who smoke marijuana. It is perfectly
within your right as a landlord to have a no-smoking rule for your building. And it’s already against the law for people to smoke in public areas like stairwells, common courtyards and laundry rooms. You have options. Landlords can set reasonable rules to protect their investments and tenants’ health. Smoke can’t be contained to a single unit and can cause serious health problems. It can also cause fires and damage to units. Restricting smokcontinued on page 10
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