- Rents in 16 LA and Ventura County communities rose 2.4% last quarter, a sharp increase compared to 0.5% during the same period last year.
- Thousand Oaks, Pasadena, and Santa Monica saw the biggest spikes, with rent hikes of 4% to 6% since December.
- The increases are tied to displacement from January wildfires, which destroyed more than 12,000 homes and sent thousands searching for nearby housing.
- ApartmentList found no signs of rent gouging, but noted the fires significantly shifted local rent trajectories.
Hotspots See Double-Digit Annualized Growth
Some of the steepest increases were recorded in communities adjacent to the burn zones.
Thousand Oaks led the region with a 6.1% quarterly jump in rent, bringing the median to $2,894. Pasadena saw rents rise 4.3%, and Santa Monica rents climbed 4.2%—a notable reversal from a decline in the same period last year, according to The Real Deal.
Even in Los Angeles proper, rent growth picked up. The city posted a 1.4% increase in Q1, compared to just 0.1% a year ago.
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Demand Surge, But No Widespread Gouging
ApartmentList’s analysis attributes the rising rents not to price gouging, but to a realignment of demand and supply after the fires. Displaced households are competing for limited rental units, putting upward pressure on prices in areas that typically see more modest growth.
“This appears to be a demand-driven shift rather than exploitation,” the report noted.
Statewide and National Context
The upward trend in Southern California outpaced both the state and national averages. California rents rose 1.7% last quarter to $1,884, while national rents climbed just 0.8% to $1,216.
These figures reinforce the outsized impact local disasters can have on housing dynamics in high-demand urban areas.
