I own several rental properties in Seattle and they have definitely been impacted. It seems like so many people that could not sell their homes have decided to rent them out instead so there is a glut of gorgeous homes available for lower rents so they can just get some money out of them rather than having them sit vacant. Obviously this is driving rents down on current rental properties and also pushing us to have to spend money to fix our rentals up to compete w/current inventory.

Yes, they sure have! It's all about supply and demand, and this year we've had a glut of homes, condos and townhouses added to the rental market. The majority of these new additions to the rental market were homes/units that were built to sell, but sales were so slow that builders needed to rent them to stop the financial bleeding. There were also situations where homeowners couldn't afford their mortgage so they rented their homes to save it from foreclosure, and lastly many homeowners who were transfered for work are left with a higher mortgage balance than the home is worth so they too are turning to renting instead of selling. I agree with the other posts that the Seattle Metro area is seeing less reduced rental prices as compared to outlying areas, but there has most definitely been a drop in all areas.

There has been a bit of volatility in the rental market over the past year- however, different areas have been affected differently. For high demand areas close-in to the city and transportation, prices haven't fluctuated as much, although there are a lot of units available and this of course puts downward pressure on prices. In area a bit further out, prices have had a bit more softening.

Generally there has been a drop. People are being more conseervative and willing to live with friends and family longer. Also, because of the difficulty selling condos, many projects have reverted to being rentals. All this has created a bit of a glut in the market for rental inventory and a subsequent higher vacancy rate and lower pricing by many to lure renters.

There have been some increases in closer-in neighborhoods yet some areas further out of the central core have had some significant decreases in price e.g. Mill Creek, Edmonds, Shoreline, etc.

We've seen some stable pockets, and other areas with significant increases in rental availabilty and decreased rental prices.