By Jorge Casuso

August 29, 2025 -- After decreasing for three straight months, rents in Santa Monica remained relatively flat in August amid a sluggish market nationwide, according to Apartment List's rent report released Wednesday.

Rents -- which dipped -0.2 percent nationwide and -0.1 percent locally this month -- are not expected to pick up again this year after the official arrival of the rental market's slow season, the site's researchers predict.

"Historical seasonal patterns suggest rents will continue to drop on a month-over-month basis for the next 4 to 5 months, as fewer renters move and occupancy slows," the report said.

"Year-over-year rent change has now fallen to -0.9 percent -– the lowest reading since December 2023 –- as this year’s moving season continues to trend slower than the last."

Santa Monica has bucked that trend, with rent growth standing at +1.6 percent, up from -5.8 percent one year ago, according to the report based on local listings.

The increase is likely due to the wildfires in nearby Pacific Palisades that destroyed 6,837 structures in January ("Santa Monica Rents See Slight Increase," April 29, 2025).

But the local market quickly cooled by May and rents have fallen -0.6 percent over the first eight months of the year.

Currently, the median rent in Santa Monica is $2,344 for a one-bedroom apartment unit and $2,810 for a two-bedroom unit, while the vacancy rate stands at 4.7 percent, down 1.3 percent from this time last year.

Still, Santa Monica's overall median rent of $2,476 is 11.6 percent higher than the median of $2,218 for the Los Angeles metro area, which includes the 27 cities in LA and Orange counties included in the Apartment List database.

Calabasas had the highest median rent in LA County ($3,335), followed by Culver City ($2,954), while Los Angeles had a median rent of $2,094.

Newport Beach, with a median rent of $3,349, remains the region's most expensive city, while Long Beach remains the most affordable, with a median rent of $1,803.

The metro's fastest annual rent growth is taking place in Costa Mesa (4.5 percent) while the slowest is in Laguna Niguel (-3.9 percent).

Researchers for Apartment List, who base their monthly report on the millions of listings posted on the site, note that nationwide, "rent growth is slipping and the vacancy rate is at an all-time high."

Conditions could shift after the surge in multi-family construction over the past few years has peaked and "is expected to slow further in the second half of this year and into 2026."

Despite, the shift, researchers predict it will still take time for the market to absorb the new units and "metabolize the recent growth in the rental stock."

Apartment List's monthly report "aims to identify transacted rent prices, as opposed to the listed rent prices."