I have not experienced this in Pico-Robertson.
Nationwide, apartment rents eased 0.1% in the fourth quarter, the first drop since 2002, according to the analysis by research firm Reis Inc.
Los Angeles apartment rents fell 0.7% in the fourth quarter, the first decline since 2001, although overall rents for the year were up slightly over 2007.
Property owners and real estate agents say the supply of rental units has climbed in the last year. Overbuilding during the real estate boom added vacant units to the rental pool, and some home sellers discouraged by the moribund real estate market are renting their houses or condominium units rather than trying to sell. Foreclosures add both supply and demand to the rental market, as foreclosed homes become rentals and former owners seek places to rent.
Declining incomes and rising unemployment also mean people have less to spend on rent.
Mark Verge, owner of the property listings service Westside Rentals, said he’d seen rents fall faster in the last three months than at any time since he founded the company 13 years ago.
“I used to have to beg owners to lower rents. Now they ask me, ‘What do you think I should lower it to?’ ” Verge said.
Verge said his service had 24,000 units listed for rent — a 33% increase from the 18,000 he had at this time last year.
