Rents falling in Valley

The recession is driving an exodus of apartment dwellers, forcing landlords to make concessions and driving down rents in the San Fernando Valley, said a USC study released Wednesday.Gregory J. Wilcox in the Daily News.

In last year's fourth quarter, the average rent for a Valley apartment fell nearly 4 percent and the occupancy rate fell 4.4 percent, said the Casden Multifamily Market Report from the university's Lusk Center.

Across Los Angeles County last year, 41,000 people moved out of apartments - as opposed to the 29,000 who moved in over the past five years, the report said.