By M/PF's calculations, rents in the greater Seattle market increased by an average of 6% since fourth quarter 1999, exceeding the region's general consumer price inflation rate of 4.1%. Renters here were paying a monthly average of $850 per unit as of the end of the year, with high-end apartments averaging $1,200 a month and low-end apartments averaging $743.

The rates are rising because average occupancy hit 96.6% by the end of last year. Up 3.1% from the end of 1999, it is the first time the market's performance has exceeded the US norm since mid-1998. In the submarkets of Ballard, North Seattle, South Seattle and Kirkland, rates in excess of 98% were reported.

MPF's Gregg Willett says the high absorption rate of apartment units here "reflected a shift in overall housing demand from the for-sale sector to the rental option" due to rising home prices, a lackluster job market and a cooling economy. The Seattle area added just 26,900 new jobs in 2000 after consistently hitting 60,000 and 70,000 in previous years, while the median price of a home in Seattle edged over $226,000.