Apartment life attracts more families scaling back

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published May 18, 2008

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Pierce County in April had an overall vacancy rate of 3.9 percent, according to the Dupre + Scott study.

Renters are turning to apartments because they are nervous about the housing market, she said.

South Sound home prices have fallen in recent months, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data.

On a year-over-year basis, single-family home prices in Thurston County fell 2.71 percent in April and 1.71 percent in March, Northwest MLS data show.

Travis Villines of Olympia, a former loan officer, said he is waiting for home prices to fall further.

"I would rather just wait until I can find a good deal on a place that I really want to live in," he said.

Villines, a commercial scuba diver, rents a duplex in Olympia, paying $695 a month. He said it wasn't difficult to find but has noticed that rents are higher.

South Puget Sound Community College student Mikaela Stine of Olympia spent three months looking for an apartment before she found one she could afford. She finally found a one-bedroom apartment for $485 a month in Olympia.

Olympic Rental Association President and CEO Tim Seth expects vacancy rates to remain low.

His association, which represents about 1,500 South Sound apartment owners, produces its own vacancy-rate survey every August. Last August, his survey showed a vacancy rate of 5 percent, but he expects that to fall to 4 percent this August, Seth said.

He advises prospective renters to be persistent in a tight market.

"Make lots of phone calls and keep filling out (rental) applications," he said. "Don't just sit and wait."

Rolf Boone is a business reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.