National local apartment rents go in opposite directions

U.S. monthly apartment rents dropped an average of $4 in December.

The average rent for an apartment unit nationwide last month was $1,210, a four percent year-over-year increase, according to Yardi Matrix, an apartment information service in Santa Barbara.

The Inland Empire bucked the national trend. Apartment rents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties rose eight percent between December 2015 and December of last year, the fourth-largest increase of any major metropolitan area during that time, Yardi Matrix reported.

The data was based on survey of 123 markets.

As for 2017, overall apartment rents are expected to continue to decline during next six months or so, then possibly pick up again due to an improving economy and an anticipated decline in new supply, Yardi Matrix predicted.