By Jorge Casuso

November 30, 2022 -- Santa Monica rents remained relatively flat in November, falling by 0.5 percent to an average median rent of $2,202, according to Apartment List's monthly report released Wednesday.

Local rents are rising much slower than they did last year, climbing by 7.3 percent since January, compared to a 15.6 percent increase over the first 11 months of last year.

The current median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Monica is $2,081 and $2,593 for a two-bedroom, according to data compiled from listings on the popular website.

Like Santa Monica, 21 of the 23 other cities in the region included in Apartment List's database saw rents dip, with only Torrance showing a 0.3 percent increase, while Laguna Niguel saw no change.

By far the highest median rent for a two-bedroom was $5,251 in neighboring Marina del Rey, followed by $3,313 in Irvine and $3,215 in Newport Beach, according to the data.

Three other cities, all of them in Orange County, had higher rents than Santa Monica -- Lake Forest ($3,097), Laguna Niguel ($2,912) and Mission Viejo ($2,884).

Only two of the cities had apartments listed with median rents lower than $2,000 -- Pomona ($1,912) and Long Beach ($1,895).

The slight fluctuations in rents in the 24 cities ranged from a 2.1 percent decrease in Newport Beach to the 0.3 percent uptick in Torrance.

The slight downward trend in the Santa Monica region reflected a 1 percent dip in Apartment List's National index, marking the third straight month-over-month decline.

The slowdown is widespread, with rents decreasing in 93 of the nation's 100 largest cities, with the sharpest decline of 2.6 percent in Seattle.

"The timing of the recent cooldown in the rental market is consistent with the typical seasonal trend, but its magnitude has been notably sharper than what we’ve seen in the past," the researchers wrote.

This suggests "that the recent swing to falling rents is reflective of a broader shift in market conditions beyond seasonality alone.

"Going forward it is likely that rents will continue to dip further in the coming months as we move through the winter slow season for the rental market," the report predicts.

Apartment List Rent Report data is drawn monthly from the millions of listings on the site, according to the website.

The report calculates one-bedroom and two-bedroom rents and aims to identify transacted rent prices, as opposed to the listed rent prices. To view the full report click here.