KEPER news did a study on the tri-cities rentals and this is what they came up with. Take a look:
RICHLAND, Wash. -- The Tri-Cities saw bigger hikes to rent than anywhere else in the state, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University. In September 2009, the study shows the average rent in Benton and Franklin Counties was $670. A year later, average rent prices rose to $764, a 10.7 percent increase.
For the average renter, that means an additional $74 per month on rent, and an extra $888 per year.
Have we hit our peak? some property managers think so. Ayesha Grantham, Property Manager for On The Boulevard, said the Tri-Cities "might have hit its peak but I think we're still at the top for the demand," she said. "There are still people who come in everyday and check for a place to live," Grantham continued.
Other property managers like Kasey McComas of The Crossings on Chapel Hill in Pasco believes those pricey rental rates are behind us. "I definitely think we're going to start seeing the downhill motion," she told KEPR.
In fact, McComas said three of her competitors just lowered their rates. So why could rent be falling?
Action News found supply is catching back up with demand. Across the Tri-Cities there are plans for five new apartment units or complexes. On The Boulevard is adding close to three dozen one-bedrooms that will be ready next month.
"There's now availability," Grantham said.
Altogether, there will more than 600 more new units over the next couple years, a trend that concerns McComas. "I think the Tri-Cities market will be over-saturated," she explained.
KEPR already reported word of 1,600 layoffs at Hanford and that could mean a lot more units freed up. It's made complexes wary of raising rates and renters wary of locking into long leases.
Either way, it's likely this will drive prices back down.
The largest decline in rent came from Walla Walla County where average rents fell 7.5 percent
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