Apartment rents in Orange County, Calif., soften

Despite some dampening, Orange County, Calif., apartment fundamentals remained healthy at the start of 2023, according to the OC: Market recalibrating multifamily report by Yardi Matrix. Monthly rents contracted 0.4 percent on a trailing three-month basis through February to $2,687 per unit, lagging the U.S. figure, which was down 10 basis points to $1,702 per unit per month.

The occupancy rate for stabilized apartment properties dropped 100 basis points in the 12 months ending in January, but at 96.7 percent, the metro remained one of the tightest major rental markets in the country. Interestingly, the drop in occupancy was steeper in workforce communities.

The unemployment rate in Orange County dropped to 2.5 percent in December 2022, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, leading the state (4.1 percent) and the United States (3.5 percent), while trailing San Francisco and San Jose. Although unemployment surpassed pre-pandemic val