Christine Arce had been eyeing a loft in downtown Los Angeles for six months, but the $1,550 monthly listed rent was just out of reach.

The fashion sales representative called back recently on a whim and found the property managers were offering just enough to bring her in — a $100 monthly reduction and the first month free. “I was totally surprised,” said Arce, 32. She may have been pleased, but for landlords her good fortune represents a grim new reality.

After rising for several years, rents in the Los Angeles area are declining because of the economic recession and depressed home prices, researchers, real estate agents and property managers say. The lower local rents match a national trend, according to a report released Wednesday showing apartment rents fell in 54 out of 79 U.S. metropolitan areas in the fourth quarter of 2008.

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