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San Diego multifamily vacancy hits highest level since 2010
Multifamily vacancy rose to 4.8% in the first quarter of 2026, as the construction pipeline shrank nearly 25% year over year to about 11,000 units.
San Diego’s multifamily and affordable housing markets are entering a transition phase, with higher vacancy and a smaller construction pipeline, according to Bisnow.
Bisnow reports multifamily vacancy reached its highest level since 2010 in the first quarter of 2026 at 4.8%. The slowdown is largely attributed to new supply coming online, while the construction pipeline shrank nearly 25% year over year to approximately 11,000 units.
The city is also estimated to face a shortfall of about 90,000 housing units. Chase Rongé, principal and director at MVE + Partners, said activity has cooled over the past year or so but the market is “heading in the right direction,” and that growth is shifting from downtown and the urban core to neighborhoods such as Kearny Mesa and Chula Vista.
Rongé said new development is bringing more diversity in product types, including a comeback of for-sale housing that could help balance the multifamily market. He is scheduled to speak at Bisnow’s San Diego Multifamily and Affordable Housing Conference on Aug. 5.