The Joseph Group releases Seattle Area Rental Market Report 2026

Half of renters have pets, 61% of rental inquiries came through Zillow, and renewals outperform re-renting

Edmonds, Wash. — Nov. 5, 2026 — The Joseph Group today released the Seattle Area Rental Market Report 2026, a free report on what renters wanted this year and how property owners can get ready for 2027. The report draws on 12 months of the company's own leasing data, from Nov. 1, 2025 to Oct. 31, 2026, covering more than 16,000 rental prospects west of the Cascades.

The report's five key findings:

• Half of renters have pets. 51% of prospects who answered the pet question had a dog, a cat or both. Residents with pets were no more likely to pay late (25.3% vs. 29.4%) and stayed about as long (29.9 vs. 29.0 months).
• Zillow is the rental market. 61% of rental prospects came through Zillow. The next source, RentMarketplace, accounted for 14%, and Apartments.com for 5%.
• Three-bedroom homes at $2,000 to $2,999 see the most demand. Three-bedrooms drew more than twice the daily inquiries of one-bedrooms, and homes in that price range leased in a median of 9 to 12 days.
• Keeping a good resident pays. Renewals raised rent a typical 4.9%, while a new resident typically brought no increase at all. Good residents are also staying longer: those who moved out on their own had stayed a typical two years, up from 21.5 months the year before.
• Timing matters. Homes listed in March leased in a median of 7 days; November listings took 19 days, and a third sat more than 30.

"Most landlords make their biggest decisions, like whether to allow pets, how to price, and when a lease should end, on gut feel. We don't. Every recommendation we make to our property owners is backed by what we see across thousands of renter inquiries and every lease we sign. That's how we serve our clients: with facts, not hunches," said Ian Joseph, CEO of The Joseph Group.

Pet figures count pets only; service and assistance animals are not pets and different rules apply to them. All figures are aggregates of The Joseph Group's records; days-on-market and seasonal figures cover the last 24 months.

The full report is available at thejosephgroup.com/seattle-area-rental-market-report-2026. Property owners can also request a free rental analysis that applies the five findings to their own home at this link.

About The Joseph Group

The Joseph Group is Washington's only fully integrated real estate partner, delivering property management, sales, construction, and investment services through one coordinated team. We combine cutting-edge technology, proven processes, and performance guarantees to protect and grow our clients' investments—maximizing returns with minimum hassle.