By Jorge Casuso

April 27, 2023 -- The median rent in Santa Monica increased 0.8 percent in April, marking the second straight monthly rise after dropping for half a year, according to Apartment List's latest monthly report released Thursday.

The increase was higher than the 0.5 increase nationwide, which has seen rents growing slower than usual as the busy rental season picks up, the report said.

The small national increase "represents a slight slowdown from last month at a time of year when growth is typically picking up steam," researchers wrote.

"Even though prices are trending up again, a combination of sluggish demand and increasing supply is keeping rent growth in check."

Year-over-year rent growth in Santa Monica now stands at 3.3 percent, down from the record 16.6 percent hike a year ago, according to data compiled from listings on the popular rental website.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, rents citywide have risen a total of 1.9 percent.

Currently, the overall median rent in the city stands at $2,207, which is 5.6 higher than the median price across the Los Angeles metro area, where annual rent growth has been flat.

The median rent for a one-bedroom unit in Santa Monica now stands at $2,086 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,599 for a two-bedroom unit, according to the report.

Of the 27 cities in the LA metro area included in the Apartment List database, Marina del Rey (which is part of Los Angeles) continues to be by far the most expensive with a median rent of $4,752.

That's nearly triple the median rent of $1,652 in Long Beach, the area's least expensive city for rents, according to the data.

Torrance is seeing the fastest annual rent growth in the metro area at 9.8 percent, while the slowest is Pomona, which saw annual rents decrease by -4.7 percent.

Nationwide, rents increased in April in 69 of the nation’s 100 largest cities, down from 83 cities that saw prices rise last month, according to the report.

Meanwhile, 40 of the top 100 cities "are currently logging negative year-over-year growth, up sharply from 28 cities last month."

"As recession fears continue to grip many Americans, it’s likely that some households are delaying moves, translating to sluggish rental demand," the researchers wrote.

"And even if demand rebounds over the summer, a robust supply of new inventory hitting the market this year will continue to keep prices in check.

"The surging rent growth that we saw in 2021 and the first half of last year is now solidly behind us," the report concluded.

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.