Oakland Multifamily Market Report

Reset underway in central Oakland. While the metro has yet to recover from pandemic-induced net out-migration in 2020 and 2021, the area’s population is climbing. This is particularly true of Berkeley, where more people were living in February of this year than in the same month of 2020. These additional households may be contributing to the recent improvement in renter demand here, as well as the adjoining city of Oakland. After more apartments were relinquished than leased in the Oakland-Berkeley submarket last year, over 600 rentals were absorbed in the first half of 2023. This early progress is most apparent in the local Class C segment, which reported a 6.3 percent vacancy rate in June. The measure is below that of the other tiers and the most reduced relative to the pandemic peak. Continued net in-migration will further support demand and operations for well-budgeted residential units.