1233 ET - Downtown Seattle's apartment rents increased for the first time in 17 months in December 2024, with a 2.5% year-over-year rise to a median of $2,000, according to Redfin. This uptick preceded Amazon's new policy requiring employees to work in-office five days a week starting January 2025, up from three days. Previously, rents peaked at nearly $2,500 before the 2020 pandemic, dropping to $1,399 by February 2021 as remote work became prevalent. Post-reopening, demand pushed rents up to $3,118 by August 2022, but they've since fallen by 36% due to increased apartment construction. While longer commutes suggest an impact from Amazon's policy, Redfin says it is premature to link this directly to the rent increase, considering many workers already live close to downtown. (chris.wack@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 29, 2025 12:33 ET (17:33 GMT)
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