Back in April, we wrote that Spokane’s rental market had entered a new phase — a more balanced landscape after years of rapid rent growth and historically tight vacancies. Five months and one full summer leasing season later, it’s worth asking: did that hold up? Where are rents, vacancy, and new construction actually landing as we head into fall?
The short answer: the rebalancing is real, it’s stabilizing, and the window it created is starting to narrow. Rents are inching up rather than surging. Vacancy has settled well below its late-2024 peak but hasn’t fully normalized. And the construction pipeline — the single biggest force behind the softening of the past two years — has slowed to its lowest level since 2021. For owners and investors, the second half of 2026 looks less like a soft market and more like the setup for the next tightening cycle.
Here’s the full mid-year check-in, with updated numbers throughout.
Average Rent: Slow Growth, but Growth
As of August 2026, the average apartment rent in Spokane sits at $1,422 per month — up from $1,410 a year ago, a year-over-year increase of about 0.8%. When we checked in this spring, the citywide average was $1,414, so rents have crept up modestly through the summer leasing season rather than jumping.
Here’s how that breaks down by unit type:
| Unit Type | Average Rent (Aug 2026) | Average Size |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,338 | 474 sq ft |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,265 | 684 sq ft |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,450 | 969 sq ft |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,884 | 1,267 sq ft |
About 63% of Spokane rentals are priced between $1,001 and $1,500 per month — essentially unchanged from the spring — which remains the heart of the market and the price band where demand is deepest.
Two details in the rent data are worth a closer look. First, asking rents and effective rents are not the same thing right now. Market-wide, average asking rent is around $1,395, but the average effective rent — what tenants actually pay after concessions like a free month or reduced deposit — is closer to $1,343. That roughly $50 gap is the residue of the 2024–2025 supply wave, concentrated in newer lease-up properties. As those buildings fill, expect concessions to burn off.
Second, the middle of the market is outperforming the top. Over the past year, rents at newer 4- and 5-star properties actually slipped about 0.6%, while mid-tier 3-star properties gained 1.4% and older workforce housing gained 1.1%. If you own a well-maintained 1970s–1990s building, you’re in the strongest segment of the Spokane market right now — the new luxury supply competes above you, not with you.
Investor takeaway: the “soft market” is really a top-of-market story. Workforce and mid-tier rentals are quietly posting the best rent growth in Spokane.
Vacancy: Settled, Not Fully Recovered
Multifamily vacancy in Spokane County came in at roughly 7.3% in Q2 2026 — essentially flat from where it stood this spring, and a meaningful improvement from the peak of about 9.2% in Q3 2024. For context, vacancy was as low as 3.3% in early 2021, and most analysts still consider 5–6% the market’s natural resting range.
7.3% Spokane County multifamily vacancy, Q2 2026 — down from a peak above 9% in late 2024
Demand is doing its part: the market absorbed about 735 units over the trailing twelve months, nearly matching the 815 units delivered over the same period. That near-equilibrium is why vacancy has stopped falling quickly — but it’s also why vacancy hasn’t gone back up despite the tail end of the construction wave delivering through 2025 and 2026.
Geographically, the softness isn’t evenly distributed. North Spokane and Spokane Valley — where most of the new supply landed — continue to run higher vacancy than the citywide average, while close-in established neighborhoods remain comparatively tight. Notably, brokers report that owners in select submarkets began raising rents again as of early summer — the first broad-based rent-increase behavior since the supply wave hit.
The Construction Slowdown Is the Big Story
If you read one section of this update, make it this one. The force that softened Spokane’s rental market in 2024 and 2025 was supply: 2,053 units delivered in 2024 and 1,699 in 2023, against a historical average of roughly 1,200 units per year. That wave is over.
1,216 Units under construction in Spokane County — the smallest pipeline since 2021
Just 784 units were delivered in 2025, and projections for 2026 and 2027 call for roughly 800 units per year — less than half the 2024 peak and below the long-run average. With absorption running at 700+ units annually, the math points one direction: the excess supply gets worked off, vacancy grinds down toward that 5–6% normal range, and pricing power gradually shifts back to owners.
This is the classic real estate cycle playing out on schedule. High interest rates and construction costs choked off new starts in 2023–2024; the market feels that as a delivery drought in 2026–2028. Owners who held through the soft stretch are positioned to benefit from it.
Neighborhood Check-In
Citywide averages hide a wide spread — Spokane neighborhoods currently range from about 23% below the city average to 44% above it. The most affordable rents are found in Browne’s Addition (around $1,102/month on average), while Logan, near Gonzaga, tops the market at roughly $2,053.
South Hill
Still Spokane’s steadiest performer. Established housing stock, strong schools, and limited new supply mean South Hill rentals lease quickly and hold rents. Vacancy here runs below the county average, and the tier data above works in its favor — most South Hill inventory is exactly the mid-tier product that’s outperforming.
Perry District
The Perry District’s walkable core continues to command a premium relative to its housing vintage. Small multifamily and single-family rentals here benefit from lifestyle demand that doesn’t compete directly with big new lease-up projects.
Spokane Valley & Liberty Lake
The Valley remains the county’s largest submarket at roughly 13,900 units and absorbed about 354 units over the past year — but it’s also where much of the new supply landed, so vacancy runs above the county average and concessions are most common. For buyers, that pressure has a silver lining: the Valley led the county in sales activity with roughly $74.6 million in multifamily transactions at an average 6.0% cap rate. Softness is creating entry points.
West Central & Kendall Yards
Kendall Yards’ newer product sits in the 4–5 star tier that has seen slight rent declines, while adjacent West Central’s older stock continues to appreciate as the area improves. The rent gap between the two remains one of the more interesting value-add signals in the city.
North Spokane
Along with the Valley, North Spokane carries above-average vacancy from recent deliveries. Expect this to be the last area to tighten — and, for that reason, the area where tenants still have the most negotiating leverage this fall.
What the Numbers Mean for Investors
On the transaction side, Spokane County multifamily is trading at an average cap rate of about 6.2%, with newer complexes at 5.5–6%, 1970s–1990s properties at 6–6.5%, and older value-add product at 6.5–7% or higher. Sales volume over the trailing year was roughly $124 million — well below the five-year average of $189 million — and private (non-institutional) investors accounted for nearly 80% of the buying.
Translation: institutional capital is still mostly on the sidelines, local and regional buyers are picking up assets at cap rates not seen in years, and the delivery drought of 2026–2028 is the tailwind they’re buying into.
The for-sale market tells a complementary story. Spokane’s median home sale price is hovering around $376,000, down about 1.2% year over year, with homes still selling in roughly 15 days at full asking price. Flat home prices plus high mortgage rates keep would-be buyers renting longer — which supports rental demand — while giving investors a rare stretch where acquisition prices aren’t running away from them.
The Legislative Backdrop: Plan Your Renewals Now
No 2026 market discussion is complete without HB 1217, Washington’s rent stabilization law. For 2026, the statewide cap on rent increases for most tenancies is 9.683% (7% plus CPI, subject to the law’s exemptions — including the 12-year exemption for newer buildings). We covered the details, and the myths, in our August post on HB 1217 and Spokane’s right-to-cooling ordinance.
The market data above makes the compliance picture easier to swallow: with citywide rent growth under 1%, the cap is not the binding constraint on most Spokane renewals this year — the market is. But the cap changes how you should think about pricing. Because increases are limited in any single year, chronically under-market rents can no longer be corrected in one jump. Owners need a multi-year plan that moves rents toward market steadily, with proper notice, every renewal cycle. That’s a discipline, not a one-time decision.
Spokane’s new right-to-cooling ordinance also deserves a spot on your fall to-do list. With summer over, the off-season is the cheapest time to plan and install compliant cooling — contractors are more available and pricing is better than it will be next May.
Navigating the Rest of 2026
Our spring outlook said 2026 would favor informed, professional owners over passive ones. The mid-year data sharpens that view:
- Price to the market, not the cap. Modest, defensible increases at renewal — supported by comps — beat aggressive jumps that trigger turnover in a market where re-leasing can still take time in some submarkets.
- Retention is the highest-ROI activity this fall. With vacancy at 7.3% and concessions still common at competing properties, a lost tenant costs more than a reasonable renewal. Respond fast to maintenance, communicate early on renewals, and keep good tenants in place through the winter.
- Mid-tier owners: this is your market. Well-kept older properties are posting the best rent growth in the county. Targeted upgrades — flooring, fixtures, in-unit laundry where feasible — widen that advantage.
- Buyers: the window is open but closing. Six-plus percent cap rates, motivated sellers, and a shrinking construction pipeline is a combination Spokane hasn’t offered in years. As vacancy tightens through 2027, pricing will follow.
- Get winter-ready now. Furnace service, gutter cleaning, and weatherization in September and October cost less than emergency calls in December — and keep you ahead of habitability requirements when the cold arrives.
The rebalanced market we described in April is holding — but the forces underneath it are already shifting toward owners. The next 12 to 24 months of falling deliveries will do quiet, steady work on vacancy and rents. The owners who benefit most will be the ones whose properties, pricing, and tenant relationships are in order before the tightening arrives.
Put Local Market Data to Work for Your Property
Apex Property Management has managed Spokane-area rentals since 2004. We track this market every day — and we use it to price, lease, and manage your property like it’s our own.
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