Report: The median cost of rent in Los Angeles plateaued in September

Rental prices in Los Angeles held steady in September, according to a report from Apartment List. The median price of rent neither rose nor fell during the month, ending a streak of seven consecutive months of climbing prices.

The median cost of rent stands at $1,350 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,740 for a two-bedroom unit.

That’s still a 4.5 percent increase over September of 2016, giving Los Angeles greater year-over-year rent growth than the California-wide average of 4.3 percent and the national average of 2.8 percent.

Apartment List uses Census data to calculate median rental prices and the report gives a good sense of what people across the city are currently paying. But new arrivals and residents looking for a new place could be staring at a bleaker picture.

A separate report from Abodo, which primarily relies on listings on the apartment finder’s website, finds the median price in Los Angeles to be $2,112 for a one-bedroom (that steep price is actually down 1 percent since August). By Abodo’s calculations, Los Angeles is the seventh-most expensive rental market in the United States.

According to Apartment List, rents in other Southern California cities also stayed relatively flat in September, though other areas have seen larger year-over-year increases. Prices in Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Santa Clarita shot up more than 5 percent last year, with Santa Clarita tenants facing a particularly steep rise of 6.6 percent.

Earlier this year a UCLA report predicted LA renters would face gradually climbing prices as supply of available housing continues to lag behind demand.

• Downtown LA’s vacancy rate hits 17-year high [Curbed LA]
• LA rental prices increase for the seventh month straight [Curbed LA]
• Report: LA is the nation’s most unaffordable housing market—and prices will keep rising [Curbed LA]