If you are looking for an affordable apartment look no further than Westminster. 

The city had the county’s highest percentage of empty units and the greatest rent cuts.  Rents in large apartment complexes dropped 9%, averaging $1,312 per month.  Almost 11% of units in Westminster’s large apartment complexes are empty.

Mission Viejo and Irvine had the second and third biggest rent reductions.  Summer rentals in Mission Viejo averaged $1,400 a month which was a 7.2% drop.

Irvine had the county’s second-highest vacancy rate at 8.5%.  Irvine apartment owners cut rents by 7.1% to an average of $1,779 a month. 

Rents went down last summer in 22 of 23 Orange County cities studied.  Countywide the average rent was $1,523 over the summer, down 5% from the summer of 2008. 

 The only O.C. city studied to see rents increase was Brea.  Brea’s average rent in a large apartment complex increased 3% to $1,469 a month.