AuthorKeegan Mulcahy
First Vice President & DirectorSan Diego, CA
San Diego, CA Retail Market Report Q3 2026
San Diego’s retail market ended Q3 2026 with 4.3% vacancy, asking rent of $36.04 per square foot, and record pricing of $431 per square foot. This Matthews™ Research report covers San Diego retail demand, new supply, cap rates, and investment activity for owners, investors, and tenants. Download the full Q3 2026 San Diego Retail Market Report below.
Vacancy Rises 13 bps to 4.3% as Retail Deliveries Climb 189%
Key Takeaways
- Vacancy is 4.3%, 13 bps looser than Q3 2025.
- Asking rent is $36.04/SF, down 1.3% year over year.
- Pricing of $431/SF is a record, higher for 16 consecutive years.
- San Diego recorded $2.1B in trailing-twelve-month sales, +35% year over year.
Demand
San Diego absorbed 36K SF in Q3 2026, against -149K SF in the same quarter last year. Vacancy is 4.3%, 13 bps looser than Q3 2025. Outlying SD County S is the tightest submarket at 0.1% vacancy; North County/Outer leads rent growth at +1.6%. Trailing-12-month absorption of -91K SF compares with -699K SF a year earlier. Asking rent of $36.04/SF is down 1.3% year over year and 1.4% below the Q4 2025 peak of $36.54/SF. Vacancy sits 82 bps below the Q1 2021 peak of 5.1%.
Supply
San Diego delivered 180K SF in Q3 and 326K SF over the trailing twelve months (+189% versus the prior TTM period). Space under construction equals 0.1% of inventory, concentrated in Miramar/Mira Mesa at 1.0% of its stock. Annual deliveries peaked at 1.61M SF in 2006. Q3 deliveries were 1142% above last year’s 15K SF.
Investment Market
San Diego recorded $2.1B in sales over the trailing twelve months, +35% against the prior TTM period; Q3 accounted for $749M. The high-water mark in this series is $2.2B in 2022.
San Diego cap rates average 6.06%. Pricing sits at $431/SF, higher for 16 consecutive years. Price per SF is at a record.
Volume
- $2.1B TTM volume (+35% YoY)
- Q3 2026: $749M
- Series peak $2.2B (2022)
Pricing
- Cap rate 6.06%
- Price per SF $431
- Record price per SF
Compare with the prior quarter in our San Diego Retail Market Report Q2 2026 or see neighboring conditions in the Los Angeles Retail 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.
