Market Reports

By Peter Hauser, Principal, Avison Young The Orange County multifamily sector is extremely strong. Rents continue on a positive upward trend and occupancies remain very high, hovering around 97 percent. It is unquestionably a landlord’s market. Many years of supply constrained NIMBY-ism that created the lack of new construction is coming to an end, however. The California governor has mandated that cities approve quality residential developments with the goal of increasing density and combatting the significant housing shortage. There are currently 6,800 new multifamily units in the process of being delivered. While there are projects in the majority of cities, Irvine, Anaheim, Orange and Santa Ana are seeing the most development activity. Some very active Orange County developers include Trammel Crow Residential, Alliance, the Irvine Company, Western National Group, JPI, Wermers Companies, Avalon, Fairfield, Shopoff Realty and Garden Communities. Alliance Residential is nearly complete on its 1,221-unit Park & Paseo in Santa Ana, near the border of the master-planned Tustin Legacy community. Wermers Companies is also in the process of finishing the 603-unit Elan, located less than a mile from downtown Santa Ana near the intersection of the 55 and 5 freeways. The 653-unit Avalon Brea Place is starting to …

By Eric Chen, Senior Vice President, CBRE Multifamily has been a well-performing real estate segment during the past 18 months as demand for housing continues to trump supply in most of California. The Inland Empire has been the recipient of much of this demand within the Greater Los Angeles and Southern California regions due to their economic and population growth. Tenants are also in search of more affordable, quality dwellings outside the urban core. Due to the confluence of these factors, multifamily vacancies in the area are at an all-time low of less than 5 percent. This is exasperated by the fact that new developments are at the lowest level across the nation, pushing rent growth to No. 1. This dynamic is, of course, ideal for investors who seek stable, income-producing investments with potential upside and little risk of oversupply. We do expect additional apartment properties to be built in the coming year or two, which will create more investment opportunities and provide more options for tenants who are new to the region or relocating from within. Looking back on this year, we have seen a number of large institutional-sized transactions between $25 million and $100 million, with investors ranging …

By Allen Chitayat, First Vice President, CBRE Capital Markets The San Diego multifamily market has continued to exhibit very strong fundamentals in light of the pandemic. This is due to the region’s diversified economy, as well as the continued shortage of housing supply. Tourism, biotech, healthcare, education, the Navy, drone manufacturing, business services, software, and other high-tech industries have made San Diego a magnet for venture capital and other business investment, with several high-profile technology companies announcing expansions in San Diego. Local historic housing policies, which have been unfriendly to new development, have made it very expensive to build, and perpetuate the shortage of housing. This dynamic has continued to bode well for multifamily investment in the region. However, there have been numerous efforts by the various municipalities within San Diego County to increase housing density in their transit priority areas. This has been aided by more relaxed parking requirements and revisions of community plans in the City of San Diego (through the Complete Communities Initiative), Mission Valley, Kearny Mesa and Downtown’s Midway District.  These community plan amendments and initiatives call for an additional supply of about 70,000 new housing units. In addition, the Navy recently announced a preliminary decision to redevelop …

By Ramon Kochavi, First Vice President and Regional Manager, Marcus & Millichap Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Precipitated by a once-in-a-lifetime health crisis, the 2020 market shift has had an oversized effect on Northern California’s multifamily marketplace. The ongoing pandemic has the hallmarks of an event that causes people — including real estate investors — to draw overarching conclusions. Overreaction is a characteristic of most recessions, but time and time again, investors have turned away from the Bay Area only to spend the next decade watching rent growth and massive appreciation from the sideline of some secondary market. While some Bay Area cities experienced double-digit, year-over-year rent decreases, these reductions are likely transitory in nature.  Three factors have led to the Bay Area apartment rent growth over the past three decades:  • A limited supply of units • A robust labor market (especially high paying jobs)  • An onerous regulatory environment.  These three trends are still present in the marketplace. While some jobs have transformed into either hybrid or fully remote positions, there is no doubt that the majority of work, especially entry level, will return to an office setting after the health crisis. Office …