What would it take for you to sign a lease right now? A good price? A $1,000 Amazon gift card?
Kim Reidy is a senior broker at Point 3 Real Estate and Director of Relocation at the Seattle Rental Group. She has a good pulse on the region's rental market and says now is a good time to sign a lease.
"Having the vacancies that we've had this time of year, I certainly think this is a great time for people to get out and rent," said Reidy.
According to Zillow, rents in Seattle are down 4 percent compared to this time last year. In the metro area, rents are down .4 percent.
Reidy says while this is good for renters, it's nothing that out of the ordinary. She says rents are usually a bit lower in the winter due to a slower market, but what is extraordinary is the amount of incentives that new buildings are offering to fill vacancies.
"They're usually attached to large big buildings that are just opening, they're sitting there with 300 openings, they're not going to fill them all in one month so they can incentivize," said Reidy.
A simple search on Craigslist and they're there: The ClockTower in Lake City offering a free Amazon Dot, the Ravello in Redmond offering 2 months free rent, and if you're looking in Everett, the Nova North is offering free rent, waived deposit and a $250 gift card.
Reidy says this is all because of the area's construction boom. As more new building open their doors to renters, the more they have to differentiate themselves from their competition.
If you're looking to rent, Reidy says do your homework to get the best incentives.
"Most of the buildings will advertise daily on their websites what their specials are and those certainly can change from week to week so keep your eye on that."
If you already rent, you can still take advantage of the trends. Reidy say if you notice a similar unit in your building is advertised at a lower price, you should bring it up with your landlord. She says you probably won't pay less rent, but they may lower or get rid of rent increases altogether.
With lower rents and more incentives, this could be a good opportunity to upgrade to somewhere downtown or to a bigger space.
"It's giving people more opportunity to stretch their wings and have a little bit more of a lavish lifestyle with these specials," said Reidy.