Orange County Multifamily Investment Activity Slashed in Half to $198M
Even as deliveries are slowing considerably, the performance for Orange County's multifamily market weakened in the first quarter.
For one, the market absorbed just 371 units in the quarter, down significantly from the 940 posted in the three months prior, according to a report from CBRE. On the bright side, the category at least remained positive, which at the very least indicates that "leasing demand remained intact," the CRE firm said.
Another element that slowed was investment activity, with volume falling to $197.8 million compared with $452.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2025.
"The quarter-over-quarter decline largely reflected smaller transaction sizes during Q1 2026," CBRE said.
The largest multifamily purchase in Orange County was made by an undisclosed buyer, who paid $84 million for a 245-unit Garden Grove asset. The next closest was Dunbar RE Investments, which bought a 68-unit property for $27.25 million in Brea, followed by Mahdek Property Partners acquiring a 37-unit asset in Costa Mesa for $14.25 million.
Moreover, occupancy dropped in the market by 10 basis points to 96.1 percent, with CBRE attributing the decline to recently delivered space that remained vacant.
Yet, overall supply dropped to 461 units, from 1,642 units at the end of 2025, with economic headwinds and rising construction costs shying away development activity in Orange County, according to CBRE.
As far as rents go, they remained steady at the end of March, averaging $2,896. "Landlords had minimal pricing power as renters grappled with elevated costs of living which decreased demand," CBRE said.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM