San Diego's multifamily market has seen a big recovery in activity. During the third quarter, sales hit $713 million in the region, a 52 percent surge from the previous three months, a report from CBRE finds. Also, so far, that's the highest figure that category has recorded in 2024.
"The rise in volume was a product of both high-priced trades and escalating prices," CBRE wrote in its analysis.
Helping drive the strong sales were four transactions surpassing $100 million each. Plus, the average multifamily unit price of $405,380 was the second largest amount since the Federal Reserve began hiking rates in 2022.
It comes as supply has continued to fall in the market, with completions at 788 in the third quarter. That's 35 percent below the "fourth quarter norm," according to CBRE.
Rents rose 0.4 percent from the previous three months to $2,820. However, as supply remains high after a "record-breaking 2023", rents fell 1.7 percent versus the same period last year. Occupancy was up 10 basis points at 95.5 percent from the second quarter — but slipped 80 basis points year-over-year.
The highest rents were in Carlsbad/Encinitas/Del Mar, averaging $3,474, followed by La Jolla/University City at $3,332. The highest vacancy was recorded in Downtown San Diego/Coronado, at 6.5 percent.
Net absorption slipped 30.5 percent from the previous three months — but was up from the decade-quarterly average by 16.4 percent.