AuthorKeegan Mulcahy
First Vice President & DirectorSan Diego, CA
San Diego, CA Multifamily Market Report Q3 2026
San Diego’s multifamily market ended Q3 2026 with 4.0% vacancy, average rent of $2,794 per unit, and 6,596 units delivered over the trailing twelve months. This Matthews™ Research report covers San Diego apartment demand, new supply, cap rates, and investment activity for owners, investors, and lenders. Download the full Q3 2026 San Diego Multifamily Market Report below.
Deliveries Climb 49% as a Likely Merger Lifts Q3 Sales Volume 5.7x
Key Takeaways
- Vacancy is 4.0%, 2 bps looser than Q3 2025.
- Average rent is $2,794, up 1.5% year over year.
- Cap rates average 4.92%, up for 18 straight quarters.
- San Diego recorded $5.5B in trailing-twelve-month sales, +68% year over year.
Demand
San Diego absorbed 297 units in Q3 2026, against 345 in the same quarter last year. Vacancy is 4.0%, 2 bps looser than Q3 2025. Carlsbad/Encinitas/La Jolla is the tightest submarket at 2.5% vacancy; Downtown San Diego/Coronado leads rent growth at +5.4%. Trailing-12-month absorption of 6,159 units is up from 5,311 a year earlier.
Supply
San Diego recorded 1,415 units of completions in Q3 and 6,596 over the trailing twelve months (+49% versus the prior TTM period). Units under construction equal 2.8% of inventory, concentrated in Carlsbad/Encinitas/La Jolla at 4.8% of its stock. Annual completions peaked at 5,061 units in 2024. The 9,491-unit pipeline equals about six quarters of absorption at the trailing pace.
Investment Market
San Diego recorded $5.5B in sales over the trailing twelve months, +68% against the prior TTM period; Q3 accounted for $3.53B. The high-water mark in this series is $5.9B in 2021. Q3 volume is 5.7 times the prior four-quarter average and likely reflects entity-level activity from the AvalonBay and Equity Residential merger. Read volume as directional.
San Diego cap rates average 4.92%, up for 18 straight quarters. Pricing sits at $362k per unit.
Volume
- $5.5B TTM volume (+68% YoY)
- Q3 2026: $3.53B
- Series peak $5.9B (2021)
Pricing
- Cap rate 4.92%
- Price per unit $362k
- Caps expanding 18 quarters running
Compare with the prior quarter in our San Diego Multifamily Market Report Q2 2026 or see neighboring conditions in the Los Angeles Multifamily Market Report Q3 2026.
For more information on San Diego market conditions, contact Keegan Mulcahy, Market Leader in San Diego, CA, at (310) 955-1782 or keegan.mulcahy@matthews.com.
