By Jake Goldstein-Street (Washington State Standard)

Washington landlords can no longer raise rents by more than 10% per year under landmark legislation Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law Wednesday.

Effective immediately, House Bill 1217 caps residential rent hikes during a 12-month period at 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower. The limit will last 15 years. The bill also restricts manufactured home rent increases to 5% with no expiration date.

By:  Marc Stiles

Pre-leasing at Kaye, a high-end apartment tower in Belltown, started this week.

Move-ins at Skanska's 31-story tower are expected by July 15, per the project's website, which shows asking rents ranging from $2,446 for a 403-square-foot one-bedroom on the fourth floor to $6,576 for a 1,188-square-foot, two-bedroom on the 30th floor.

By Marc Stiles

More and more Puget Sound-area homeowners are willing to transact. Buyers, not so much.

The result was stagnant median sales prices last month for single-family residences in Pierce County ($565,000) and Snohomish County ($799,950). Prices rose 6.4% year over year to $584,975 in Kitsap and just over 5% to a record high of $1.03 million in King.

Inventory again skyrocketed as the market entered the thick of the spring sales season — up nearly 70% in King and 78% in Snohomish County. Pierce logged an over 29% increase, while Kitsap saw a muted 3.4% bump.