By Shannon Handy / CBS8 / July 7, 2026
San Diego’s apartment vacancy rate has surged to a record 6.1 to 6.2 percent, driven largely by a boom in new construction. This figure surpasses the previous record of 5.7 percent set during the Great Recession in 2009 and reflects a dramatic increase from 2.6 percent in 2021, according to Josh Ohl, senior director of marketing analytics for the real estate tracker CoStar.
The increase is primarily attributed to a significant influx of new apartment units, with around 5,000 new units added in 2024, followed by another 5,600 in 2025. This year alone has seen about 4,000 new units enter the market. Ohl noted the steady uptick in vacancy rates, which has mirrored the growing supply of apartments. “It’s definitely been ticking up steadily for probably about the last four straight quarters,” he said.
Despite the increase in available units, average rents in San Diego have not decreased. In fact, according to Zumper’s June rent report, San Diego remains the 10th most expensive rental market in the U.S., with one-bedroom rents increasing slightly from the previous year. However, some landlords are responding to the higher vacancy rates by offering incentives to attract renters. Erik Anderson, senior managing director with global real estate firm Newmark, mentioned that landlords have begun offering perks like “four to eight weeks free” rent.
Anderson also highlighted a trend known as “concession hopping,” where tenants move between buildings to take advantage of the best deals. He anticipates vacancy rates will begin to normalize over the next 12 to 18 months as both the influx of new residents and new construction stabilize. However, San Diego’s building boom is far from over, as the city faces a requirement to plan for over 100,000 new housing units by 2029 amid ongoing housing shortages in California. “We’re still only like 30% through that of what we’re supposed to deliver,” Anderson remarked.
Anderson explained the construction boom we’re seeing now actually started during Covid during a time when interest rates were low, demand was high, and local and state laws allowed for more construction in dense areas.
“We had this perfect storm five years ago, where tons of people flocked, tons of money came to San Diego to start building apartment buildings, and so we’re now just starting to see that pipeline really come through, because building in San Diego takes a long time, in California in general,” said Anderson.
