Orange County Multifamily Report – April 2025
While fundamentals are steady, the area hit a small snag going into 2025.
Orange County multifamily fundamentals moderated across the board at the start of 2025. The average advertised asking rent fell 0.2 percent on a trailing three-month basis through February, to $2,821, trailing the U.S. rate, which was flat, at $1,751. Occupancy in stabilized properties inched down 10 basis points year-over-year, to 96.5 percent as of February, still well above the 94.5 percent national rate.
Employment growth also moderated slightly, at 1.1 percent as of December 2024, 20 basis points behind the national rate. The county added 10,900 net jobs over 12 months. Meanwhile, unemployment stood at 4.1 percent in January, slightly higher than the 4.0 percent U.S. rate, but well below the 5.4 percent state figure. Last year, four sectors lost jobs in Orange County, with mining, logging and construction (-4,100 jobs) and manufacturing (-3,000) accounting for most of the losses. During this time, job gains were led by education and health services (9,200) and trade, transportation and utilities and leisure and hospitality (2,400 jobs each). An office-to-industrial redevelopment trend is taking shape in the area. Projects include Terreno Realty Corp.’s redevelopment of an office property into a distribution building in Santa Ana.
Developers had 8,235 units under construction as of February, on the heels of the slowest year for deliveries in at least a decade. Transaction activity also continued at a slower pace. The total for last year hit $780 million, with the price per unit at $355,287.
