A growing number of investors are turning their attention back to coastal strongholds such as San Francisco and Seattle and appreciating the factors that make West Coast metros uniquely resilient as multifamily markets across the country face increased volatility.
The West Coast has been chronically undersupplied for decades. California’s housing stock per capita is 35 percent below the U.S. average, and new development is slowed by entitlement hurdles and high construction costs. Seattle ranks among the top U.S. metros for job growth, and San Diego remains one of the five most expensive housing markets nationally, keeping renter demand consistently high. During the past 12 months, San Francisco has posted some of the highest rent growth in the United States, which is starting to spill out into the suburban Bay Area markets.
West Coast markets also offer deep, diverse, high-wage job bases and a larger share of renters-by-choice and renters-by-necessity. Historically,
