Apartment prices in downtown Seattle rose for the first time in 17 months in December, according to a new report from Redfin. That year-over-year increase came ahead of Amazon’s return-to-office policy, announced in late 2024 and implemented on Jan. 1.

The median asking rent rose 2.5% year over year to $2,000 for an apartment in downtown Seattle. However, that’s still 36% lower than in August 2022, when the median rent hit an all-time high of $3,118.

Rents in downtown Seattle previously fell from $2,500 before the pandemic in 2020 to $1,399 in February 2021 as many companies allowed employees to transition into full-time remote work.

Redfin says it’s too soon to tell if Amazon’s policy will affect rental demand, however.

“Seattle has been building more new apartments than almost any metro outside of the Sun Belt these past few years. That has helped keep rents in check — even after workers returned to hybrid or full-time office work following the pandemic,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a press release. “But as new construction levels off and workers from large companies like Amazon increasingly expect their staff to work daily in downtown offices, rents may start ticking up in Seattle’s inner ring neighborhoods where commuting is made easier.”

Rents also rose in Capitol Hill, Redmond, the Central District and Westlake in December, while the asking rent for the entire Seattle metro area rose 0.5% year over year to $2,017.