Inland Empire Multifamily Report – March 2025
Gains slipped on the heels of a steady year.
The Inland Empire’s multifamily fundamentals started the year on a lower note, following steady performance in 2024. Average advertised asking rents fell 0.5 percent on a trailing three-month basis through January, to $2,112, down 0.4 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate in stabilized properties remained at a healthy 95.1 percent in January, and above the 94.5 percent national rate.
Employment growth in the metro continued to outperform the U.S. average (1.3 percent), up 1.8 percent, or 27,300 net jobs, year-over-year through November. Education and health services (20,100 jobs) and government (9,800 jobs) led job gains, while six sectors lost 12,000 positions combined, including manufacturing (-3,400 jobs) and mining, logging and construction (-3,000 jobs). The Inland Empire’s unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in December, outperforming California (5.5 percent) and lagging the U.S. (4.1 percent). Work is underway at a 159-acre infill project in Eastvale, which will add up to 2,500 homes, a new city civic center, new police and fire stations, a public library, and office and lifestyle-focused retail space.
Developers showed no interest in RBN projects, as none were registered in neither the 10,026 units under construction as of January nor the 2,096 units delivered in 2024. Meanwhile, investment activity remained slow and below the metro’s typical five-year annual volume, totaling $725 million in 2024. The price per unit decreased 2.6 percent year-over-year, to $249,442 in December.
