Orange County Q4 Multifamily Market Report: Tight operating conditions supporting new development

Highlights:

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• Multifamily property fundamentals in Orange County softened slightly during the fourth quarter, but the overall outlook remains positive. Apartment developers are actively bringing new projects online and will ramp up deliveries in the coming quarters.
• Local vacancy ticked higher in the final months of 2022 but remains below the long-term trend. Vacancy rose 10 basis points in the fourth quarter to 3.3 percent. For the full year, the rate dipped 10 basis points.
• Local apartment rents trended lower in the fourth quarter, retreating by less than 1 percent to $2,490 per month. Despite the reduction in the fourth quarter, rents still advanced 7 percent in 2022.
• The Orange County multifamily investment market picked up slightly at the close of the year, but total sales activity in 2022 was down significantly from prior year levels. The median sales price during the past 12 months was $369,100 per unit, down slightly from 2021. Cap rates are holding fairly steady with most properties selling with cap rates between 3.75 percent and 4.25 percent.

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