
RentCafe: New Apartments in Seattle are Smallest in the U.S.
Shrinkflation is not just for products in supermarkets, but it has crept into the housing market as well. A new report from RentCafe indicates that all across the country, new apartments are getting tinier, decreasing by 54 square feet in the past 10 years. Seattle tops the list of shrinking living quarters, with an average new unit size of just 659 square feet.
One of the main reasons for Seattle’s shrinkage is a record amount of studio and one-bedroom apartments entering the market. A whopping 82% of new units are either studio or one-bedroom, compared to the nationwide average of 57%. In addition, Seattle’s tiny studio apartments have gotten even smaller, measuring 381 square feet, or about the size of a two-car garage.
Seattle is not the only Pacific Northwest city to see a substantial decline in apartment sizes. Portland, OR ranks second in the country with units averaging 681 square feet, 9% smaller than 10 years ago.