92103 Multifamily Sales Comp Report 2026 Year-to-Date
BANKERS HILL | MISSION HILLS | HILLCREST | MIDDLETOWN | UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS
The 92103 ZIP code stands as one of the region’s premier urban core submarkets, defined by low vacancy rates and strong long-term tenant demand. Anchored by major medical centers like UC San Diego Health – Hillcrest and Scripps Mercy Hospital, the area benefits from a continuous supply of high-earning healthcare professionals and urban workers. Positioned directly north of Downtown and adjacent to Balboa Park, it features a highly versatile housing stock that spans from luxury mid-rises and vintage walk-up apartments to historic small-unit residential properties.
Across its distinct neighborhoods, the submarket accommodates a variety of investment strategies. Bankers Hill commands top-of-market rents thanks to its luxury infill projects, bay views, and immediate Downtown access. Hillcrest offers steady cash flow and attractive interior value-add opportunities tied to its walkable commercial district. Mission Hills functions as an affluent, low-cap-rate enclave with high barriers to entry, while University Heights presents prime conditions for ADU expansion and property densification. Completing the area, Middletown serves as a vital transit corridor connecting 92103 directly to Little Italy and the airport.
2-4 Units
Sales Activity
Transaction activity for 2-4-unit properties in the 92103 ZIP code surged to a multi-year high in 2024, reaching 38 total sales and a 2.31% property turnover volume. However, the market experienced a sharp contraction in 2025, dropping by more than 52% to just 18 total sales and a 1.10% turnover rate as shifting interest rates and tighter inventory constrained deal flow. Activity has stabilized through YTD 2026, recording 17 sales and a 0.79% turnover rate, putting the market on track to surpass the prior year’s compressed transaction totals.
Pricing
While average overall sales prices have hovered near $1.65 million over the past four years, unit-level valuation metrics reflect continuous appreciation. The average price per unit climbed steadily from $596,474 in 2023 to $691,725 in 2026. Similarly, the average price per square foot expanded from $739.03 to $835.04 over the same period. This consistent upward trajectory in per-unit and per-square-foot metrics highlights sustained investor confidence and rising underlying real estate values in 92103, even as the individual mix of traded properties varied year over year.
Rents
Gross scheduled rental income and valuation multiples in the 92103 ZIP code have moved in opposite directions since 2024. The average gross scheduled rent peaked at $91,725 in 2024 before easing to $89,946 in 2025 and $82,382 in 2026, driven by shifts in the composition of properties sold toward smaller unit footprints or unrenovated assets. Conversely, the average gross rent multiplier expanded significantly over the same period, dropping to a low of 19.57 in 2024 before climbing to 20.37 in 2025 and reaching 22.74 in 2026. This rising GRM indicates that investors continue paying higher acquisition multiples relative to in-place rental income, signaling strong buyer belief in future market rent growth and value-add upside.
5+ Units
Sales Activity
Sales activity for 5+ unit properties in 92103 accelerated steadily over recent years, reaching a peak in 2025. Annual transactions expanded from 11 property sales in 2023 to 15 in 2024, before more than doubling to 27 sales in 2025. Year-over-year sales velocity mirrored this momentum, rising from 2.06% in 2023 and 2.80% in 2024 to a high of 4.95% in 2025. Through 2026 YTD, deal flow has remained solid with 16 completed property sales and a 2.99% sales velocity, putting the market on pace to match or exceed historical annual averages.
Pricing
Pricing for 5+ unit properties in 92103 shows a significant shift toward larger asset transactions in recent years. Average sales prices surged from $5,365,045 in 2023 and $6,745,400 in 2024 to $5,460,555.56 in 2025, reaching a peak of $9,083,273.31 in 2026. Conversely, unit-level pricing moderated over the same timeframe. Average price per unit dropped from $457,538.47 in 2023 and $495,709.72 in 2024 to $359,606.41 in 2025, with a slight rebound to $374,994.32 in 2026. Average price per square foot followed a similar trajectory, sliding from $550.22 in 2023 and $583.18 in 2024 down to $528.69 in 2025 and $516.15 in 2026. This dynamic indicates that recent market volume has been driven by larger, higher-unit-count properties trading at lower relative per-unit and per-square-foot valuations.
Cap Rates
Average cap rates for 5+ unit properties have stabilized at historic lows, moving from an average of 3.78% in 2024 to 4.45% in 2025 and 4.46% in 2026 YTD. Individual transaction cap rates in 2025 ranged from 2.80% to 5.84%, reflecting a wide spread depending on asset quality, location, and in-place rent upside. Through 2026 YTD, recorded cap rates spanning 2.95% to 6.64% demonstrate similar variation while maintaining a nearly identical submarket average. This consistency in cap rates near 4.45% underscores strong investor demand and tight yield compression for commercial-sized multifamily assets across the area.
Rents
Average gross scheduled rent for 5+ unit properties in 92103 has trended upward overall, climbing from $209,004.19 in 2023 to $244,009.66 in 2024, dipping slightly to $232,913.93 in 2025, and reaching a peak of $261,751.89 in 2026. Conversely, valuation multiples contracted significantly over the same period. After increasing from 18.13 in 2023 to a high of 22.86 in 2024, the average gross rent multiplier dropped sharply to 14.63 in 2025 and settled at 13.89 in 2026. This combination of higher gross scheduled rents and lower gross rent multipliers reflects expanding in-place cash flows alongside more favorable entry pricing multiples for larger commercial-sized assets.
