Orange County Apartment Occupancy Improves Notably

While the Orange County apartment market lost a little ground earlier this year, occupancy rebounded well in the past four months and now is above the year-ago rate.

Historically, it’s normal for Orange County occupancy to rank above the national average, as product availability here is generally limited. While the COVID-19 occupancy downturn in April was steeper in Orange County than what was seen in the nation overall, the rebound from that decline has also been more significant.

Occupancy in Orange County stood at 96.7% as of October. That reading was 110 basis points (bps) ahead of the low point from June and is also 110 bps ahead of the national average. The growth in the nation as a whole between June and October was just 50 bps, about half of the Anaheim rebound.

Orange County is a market where there’s a chronic shortage of lower-priced housing. Thus, Class C communities tend to record very tight occupancy. As of October, occupancy in that product segment came in at 97.4%. Still, occupancy is also respectable in Class A and B product, which ranks just shy of the 97% mark.

For more information on the Orange County apartment market, watch the webcast Up Close and Local: Orange County Market Update.