New apartment supply in Oakland is scheduled to surge in the coming year. Nearly 7,700 units are expected to complete in 2021, increasing the market’s net inventory by 3.6%. In the last decade, annual new supply in Oakland has averaged much lower – at about 1,500 units, growing net inventory by 0.7%. Supply tallies started to increase notably in the last half of 2019 and remained elevated in 2020. In calendar 2020, nearly 4,300 units were completed in Oakland, marking a two-decade high for the Bay Area market. Absorbing that big supply volume amid a global pandemic has proved challenging for Oakland, as occupancy slumped 80 basis points in 2020. That challenge could amplify in the near term, as next year’s supply is scheduled to nearly double last year’s high point.
