Tag Archives: tom cain

Apartment rents keep climbing in Kitsap

b0016037975-446099Average rent for apartments in Kitsap climbed to $1,186 in the third quarter of 2016, marking the 10th-straight quarter rents have increased in the county.

Per-unit rent at large apartment complexes has risen $109 since the start of the year, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington.

Port Orchard and Bremerton reported the largest rent increases in the West Sound region in the third quarter.

Vacancy rates remained low in Kitsap, with 4.35 percent of units available.

The market was tightest in Port Orchard where just 3.32 percent of apartment were vacant, while Silverdale’s vacancy rate jumped to 5.21 percent.

Cain said a balanced rental apartment market typically has a vacancy rate of 5 percent.

Here’s a graphic showing apartment rental trends in Kitsap:

Another big apartment sale in Silverdale

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Silverdale Ridge sold on May 26 for $20.05 million.

A run on apartment complexes has been one sign of Kitsap’s resurgent rental market.

In Silverdale, two Los Angeles-based firms have spent a combined $167 million buying up large apartment complexes in the past year, according to assessor’s records.

Most recently, an LLC affiliated with Benedict Canyon Equities bought the Silverdale Ridge Apartments for $20.05 million. Benedict Canyon’s portfolio now includes three complexes in the Ridgetop area.

TruAmerica, a separate firm headquartered in the same Los Angeles building as Benedict Canyon, bought the Wellington and Madison at Ridgetop apartments last fall, as part of a 14-property, multi-state deal.

Here’s a infographic showing the sales (click to enlarge):

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A description of Silverdale on TruAmerica’s website provides insight into why investors are sweet on the area. The description notes the local economy is “driven by retail, health care, and professional military,” and highlights Harrison Medical Center‘s $240 million expansion project.

Rents also are improving (from a landlord’s perspective) in the county. In a second quarter market report, Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington found Silverdale had the largest average rent increase of any submarket in Kitsap.

Click here to read my post on second quarter rental trends in Kitsap.

Average apartment rent now $1,134 in Kitsap

B0012506365--503284Average rent for an apartment in Kitsap County climbed to $1,134 in the second quarter of 2016, while vacancies dropped below 4 percent.

Average rent per unit was up $57 from the first quarter of the year, marking the largest quarterly increase in the past two years.

Rental statistics were provided by Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington, who surveys apartment complexes with 50 or more units and tracks industry trends.

Average rent in Kitsap was up 12.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016, compared with the same period of 2015.

Complexes in the Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island submarket reported both the highest average rent ($1,418) and lowest vacancy rate (2.42 percent) in the county.

Silverdale had the highest vacancy rate at 4.19 percent, but the area also saw the largest rent increases in Kitsap in the second quarter.

Cain listed job growth, a hot for-sale real estate market, and a lack of apartment construction as factors contributing to low vacancies and steady rent hikes in Kitsap and neighboring counties.

“We anticipate that with the rapidly rising rent levels and very low vacancy rates, more developers will be taking notice of Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston Counties,” Cain said in a news release.

Here’s a graphical look at apartment rental trends in Kitsap:

Average apartment rent in Kitsap reaches $1,077

12096541_10206510262029092_907327638897249611_nKitsap’s rental market remains tight, but rents and vacancy rates seem to be steadying.

Average rent at large apartment complexes was $1,077 a month in the first quarter of 2016, a $6 increase from the fourth quarter of 2015.

Rent was up about $116 from a year ago, a 12 percent change, according to numbers provided by Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington.

Vacancy rates ticked up for the third straight quarter, reaching 4.22 percent.

The opening of the 71-unit 606 apartments in downtown Bremerton likely played a role in increasing vacancies. Bremerton’s vacancy rate jumped from 2.64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 4.53 percent in first quarter of 2016.

Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island remained the tightest submarket, with a 2.91 percent vacancy rate.

In his quarterly report, Cain noted the shortage of homes for sale in the region has been a boon for rental owners.

“The tight home sale market and moderate level of new apartment construction will help keep pressure on rentals,” Cain wrote. “We expect the market to flourish this year.”

Here’s a graphical look at Kitsap rental trends:

Kitsap apartment rents up 15 percent in 2015

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Rent for apartments in Kitsap surged 15.4 percent in 2015, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington. 

The average rent per apartment unit in the county was $1,071 in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of $143 from the same period of 2014.

Apartment vacancies eased slightly to 3.44 percent in the fourth quarter. Vacancies are still much lower than in years past.

The market was tightest in Bremerton, where about 2.64 percent of apartments were vacant. About 4.12 percent were available in the Bainbridge Island/Poulsbo submarket.

Apartment Insights collects its numbers by surveying apartment complexes with 50 or more units.

NOTE: A reader asked me to better define what the term “unit.” In this case it refers to any apartment, regardless of the number of bedrooms. The average per-unit rent is simply the average rent for all apartments in the area. 

Here’s a graphical look at apartment trends in the county: