Market Report
Orange County Multifamily Market Report
2025 Investment Forecast
Job Gains Restrain Available Housing as Irvine’s Zoning
Reform Aims to Address Shortages
Relaxed zoning laws help Irvine meet growing rental demand. Rising office sector hiring is anticipated to drive a higher pace of household formation this year. Given Orange County’s nation-leading home price-to-income ratio, this dynamic will strengthen local rental demand at a time when minimal deliveries are forecasted for the market. Of the rentals slated for completion in 2025, more than 1,000 units are located within the Irvine Business Complex. Home to a large share of the metro’s office-using positions, the area is well positioned to support new multifamily construction, especially after Orange County ranked 10th nationally in office-centric job gains last year. Additionally, Irvine’s median household income is among the highest in the metro and local vacancy near the lowest, indicating new supply should be well-received. Development will likely remain concentrated in the Irvine Business Complex after zoning changes at the end of 2024 overruled local objections and permitted up to 15,000 high-density residential units to be built here over the next two decades. This is driven by efforts to meet California’s housing mandate, which requires the city to zone for over 23,000 new units by 2029.
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