The Brix condo auction might have been a good thing for Capitol Hill buyers looking for lower prices. According to this report in the Seattle Times, renters should be getting a price break, too.

Used with permission of the Seattle Times

Apartment rents falling in Puget Sound area
A shrinking number of jobs and a growing supply of apartments will continue to push the Puget Sound region’s rents down next year as vacancy rates climb, industry experts predict.

“Job losses killed our market, and development buried it,” Mike Scott, of Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors, told landlords at an industry conference Tuesday.

The average monthly rent across all apartment types in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties fell from $988 to $959 during the 12 months ending in September, and a continuing decline through 2011 will further cut that figure to $889, Dupre + Scott projects.

One driving factor is a decline in jobs. Western Washington will lose 71,000 this year, and it’s expected to lose an additional 19,000 in 2010, forecasts local consulting firm Conway Pedersen Economics.

Tough to celebrate lower rent if you don’t have a job. Article goes on to say that experts think we’re through the worst of the job cuts in the region.