By Jorge Casuso

August 31, 2021 -- Santa Monica rents rose for the fifth month in a row, nearly doubling the rent increase posted for July, according to Apartment List's monthly report released Tuesday.

Rents in Santa Monica increased 3.3 percent -- compared to 1.8 percent in July -- exceeding the 2.1 percent rent hike for the nation.

The median rent for a one bedroom apartment in Santa Monica rose $64 dollars in August to $2,110, while the median rent for a two bedroom rose by $86 to $2,660, according to the report based on the website's listings.

Calabasas was the most expensive city for renters in Los Angeles County, with a median rent of $2,900 for a one-bedroom.

It was followed by Santa Monica, which tied for second with Santa Clarita, where rents rose at a slower rate.

West Covina, with a median rent of $1,930 for a one-bedroom, was the third most expensive city in LA County, followed by West Hollywood ($1,910), Pasadena and Torrance (both $1,850), Burbank ($1,820) and Los Angeles ($1,650).

Rents in Los Angeles have risen by 5.2 percent over the past year, nearly on par with Santa Monica's increase of 5.3 percent.

"Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Los Angeles, but across the entire metro," Apartment List Researchers wrote.

"Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Los Angeles metro, all of them have seen prices rise."

Despite the increase, Santa Monica rents lag behind those in six Orange County cities.

Irvine topped the list with the median rent for a one bedroom at $2,630, followed by Newport Beach ($2,480), Lake Forest ($2,460), Laguna Niguel ($2,430), Mission Viejo ($2,400) and Costa Mesa ($2,150).

Rents in California have grown 8.7 percent over the past year, although the rate varied widely for large cities -- from a 0.2 percent increase in San Francisco to a 15.5 percent increase in San Diego.

"With rents rising virtually everywhere, only a few cities remain cheaper than they were pre-pandemic," the report said. "And even there, rents are rebounding quickly."

An example is San Francisco, where "rents are still 12 percent lower than they were in March 2020, but the city has seen prices increase by 20 percent since January of this year."

The report found that while rents continue to grow, apartment vacancies have reached historic lows.

"Last summer, many cities were experiencing elevated vacancy rates coinciding with a sudden decrease in demand as renter households consolidated," the report said.

"This summer, however, demand has been continuously heating up, leading to a supply constricted market."

The report does not address the potential impacts of eviction moratoriums coming to an end.

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.