December 3, 2024 -- Santa Monica rents rose in November for the third time this year, bucking a nationwide trend that saw rents dip during the slow rental season, according to Apartment List's monthly report.

The median rent in Santa Monica rose 1.3 percent last month and now stands at $2,338 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,803 for a two-bedroom, according to the popular rental site.

By contrast, nationwide rents slid -0.8 percent in November, which is "typically the softest month for the U.S. rental market, and this year is no exception," the report noted.

The November decrease marked the "steepest single-month drop" this year and the fourth consecutive monthly decline, according to the data compiled from listings.

Despite Santa Monica's monthly increase, rents in the beach city have decreased -2.9 percent over the past year, an improvement over the -6.1 percent annual drop one year ago.

Still, Santa Monica's overall median rent of $2,470 is 13.3 percent higher than the $2,180 median for the Los Angeles metro area, which includes the 23 cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties included in Apartment List database.

Newport Beach remains the most expensive city, with a median rent of $3,241, while Long Beach is the metro’s most affordable city, with a median rent of $1,750.

The metro's fastest annual rent growth is taking place in Orange, which saw a 5.5 percent increase, while Santa Monica saw the biggest decrease, dropping by -2.9 percent.

Nationwide, individual markets in the nation's 100 largest cities are gradually returning to positive rent growth, according to the report.

While 88 of the cities saw rents drop in November, rent growth remains negative in only 47 cities, with some of the steepest declines taking place in Sun Belt metros "that are rapidly expanding their multifamily inventory."

"Rent growth follows a seasonal pattern -– prices tend to go up during the spring and summer and dip during the fall and winter," the report noted. "We have now transitioned between those seasons."

Apartment List researchers predict "continued price dips to close out the year, as property owners offer modest discounts to fill vacancies during a time of year when fewer renters are looking to move."

The report -- based on the site's millions of listings -- "aims to identify transacted rent prices, as opposed to the listed rent prices." For the report click here