Two-thirds of renters in Seattle-Tacoma plan to buy a home within 5 years.

At a time when developers are putting up new apartment buildings at a record pace, a new survey finds 66 percent of renters in the Seattle-Tacoma area intend to own their own place withing five years. The survey, conducted in August 2015 by Kingsley Associates together with the National Multifamily Housing Council, found that only 17.5 percent of the renters planned to be in the same apartment for more than three years. 37 percent said they would only remain in the apartment for less than a year.

Other surprising results included the following:

• 35.4 percent of respondents were living alone, while only 29.2 percent had a partner.
• 34.9 percent of the renters had previously owned a home.
• 64 percent said their household income had increased in the past five years. Only 10.5 percent saw a decrease.
• 14 percent of respondents paid rent of $1,000 a month or less, up from just 8 percent in 2013. 17 percent paid more than $1,900 a month, unchanged from 2013.

While Seattle has built up a large population of renters, this trend may not be as permament as many assume. The survey suggests the large majority still plan to own their own homes whether they choose to live in houses or condos.