By Jorge Casuso

January 28, 2025 -- Santa Monica rents in January saw the largest rise in more than a year, bucking a seasonal trend nationwide, according to Apartment List's monthly report..

The 2 percent increase in the city's median rent was the highest since September 2023, when rents rose by 2.1 percent, the data provided by the popular rental website show.

The median price for an apartment in Santa Monica currently stands at $2,501, with one bedroom apartments going for a median rent of $2,367 and two bedrooms for $2,838.

The local monthly rise comes during the slow fall and winter rental season, as the nationwide median rent dipped in -0.2 percent this month, according to the report based on millions of nationwide listings.

"The end of the year, in particular, generally sees the slowest rental market activity as few households move during the holiday season," Apartment List researchers wrote.

"Demand tends to bounce back a bit in the new year, but only gradually ramps up to peak season activity in the late spring and early summer."

The monthly rise comes after Santa Monica rents decreased by -1.5 percent last year, a steeper drop than the national and statewide averages, according to the data.

Santa Monica's overall median rent of $2,501 is 15.2 percent higher than the $2,171 median rent for the Los Angeles metro region, which includes the 25 cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties included in the Apartment List database.

In January, Calabasas remained the region's most expensive city, with a median rent of $3,387, while Long Beach remained the metro’s most affordable, with a median rent of $1,732.

The metro's fastest annual rent growth took place in Calabasas, which surpassed Newport Beach in December as the region's most expensive city to rent.

Calabasas also kicked off the year with the steepest rise in January rents, 4.1 percent, while the slowest was Laguna Niguel, which saw rents drop by -1.6 percent.

Nationwide, the vacancy rate in January was 6.9 percent, the highest it has been since Apartment List began tracking vacancy data in 2017.

The increased rate is "largely attributable to an influx of new multifamily inventory hitting the market," according to the report.

"2023 marked a 30-year high for new multifamily units completing construction, and 2024 saw new completions increase even further. 2025 is expected to see completions fall back from the 2024 peak."

In January, the length of time a unit was on the market before it rented was 37 days, according to the new metric tracked by the website.

"Demand for rentals going forward remains a bit more uncertain, and will likely hinge on broader macroeconomic conditions," according to the report.

"Currently, it appears that 2025 is set to be another soft year for the rental market, though not as soft as 2024."

The Apartment List rent report "aims to identify transacted rent prices, as opposed to the listed rent prices." For the latest report click HERE