Anaheim Remains One of the Nation's Most Stable Apartment Markets

Anaheim tends to get glossed over in favor of other West Coast metros (and particularly its neighbor Los Angeles), but it's been one of the nation's steadiest performers. Rent growth in the metro got off to a slow start in 2026, but May (and to a lesser degree, June) made up some lost ground. The market is still trailing behind a "typical" year through mid-year, but Anaheim isn't as seasonal of a market as other spots of the country. The Anaheim metro almost always has one of the nation's lowest vacancy rates. That's still true today, but part of the reason the market saw rent growth slow throughout the second half of 2025 and through the first few months of 2026 was that its occupancy rate was backtracking. Not by much, but enough to matter in terms of demand equilibrium. But 2nd quarter may have shown a bit of course correction. Local occupancy rose about 30 bps from April to June (hence, accelerated rent movement). The real story in Anaheim may be supply. Not metro-wide, however. Metro Anaheim's apartment stock is scheduled to grow by about 4,800 units in 2026, though that's a bit on the elevated side for this market. Instead, it's the Irvine locale where the supply narrative comes into the fold. Irvine alone accounts for nearly three-in-four new units delivering in metro Anaheim in 2026. Going forward, Orange County remains a market with limited slack and rents will likely continue to grow with that reality.