Thurston apartment vacancy rates fall, rents rise in 4Q

Thurston County apartment vacancy rates tightened in the fourth quarter, falling to 6.21 percent from 7.36 percent in the third quarter, according to new data released by Apartment Insights Washington.

Lower vacancy rates typically result in higher rents and that's exactly what happened as rents in the county rose $3 to an average of $839 per month, the data show.

Tumwater had the lowest vacancy rate at 5.95 percent last quarter, while Lacey had the highest at 6.39 percent.

Average rents for the Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston markets remained unchanged at $852.