Los Angeles rents have decreased .8% in the first half of the year, according to a new report from Apartment List. Los Angeles rents have been stagnant since last year, so it is not surprising to see a nominal decrease due to the pandemic; however, this data includes the spring rental season, which usually helps to fuel annual rent growth. As a result, rent growth for the city could be down more significantly for 2020 with slower leasing activity expected in the second half of the year.

"The magnitude of the price drop may not feel shocking at first, but consider the deviation from the normal seasonal trend, in which rent prices generally rise a few percent every spring," says Rob Warnock, a research associate at Apartment List, tells GlobeSt.com.

While the market as a whole declined, the submarkets within the Greater L.A. area showed more inconsistencies. For example, Long Beach rents were up for the year, while Glendale rents trends behind Los Angeles.  "Admittedly, it's a bit difficult to tease apart the fluctuations we see within a relatively small geographic area. One theory that we're testing is that price drops are starting at the higher-end of the market, where demand is always first to dry up in a recession," Warnock says. "There's obviously a high concentration of expensive inventory in LA proper, and having grown up in Eagle Rock I know there's a lot of new, expensive construction in Glendale as well. If demand is flowing from places like LA and Glendale to places like Long Beach, it could mean that the rent drops in Long Beach won't materialize until later."