In Kidder Mathews’ Q3 2025 multifamily reports, Orange County had the lowest vacancy of the four markets at 3.6 percent, and the Inland Empire the highest at 5.7 percent. Los Angeles was 5.2 percent and San Diego 5.0 percent. The levels and quarter-to-quarter movements give owners context for comparing their buildings’ leasing activity and income.
This is a historical Q3 2025 review. The archived reports below were checked October 4, 2026; their figures are not current 2026 market readings.
Read the archived Q3 2025 reports
Kidder Mathews’ four multifamily reports provide the following Q3 2025 vacancy figures and comparisons with Q2 2025. Keep the publisher’s market labels with the numbers and check the inventory covered when making a property comparison.
- Los Angeles multifamily: 5.2 percent in Q3, compared with 5.0 percent in Q2, an increase of 0.2 percentage points.
- San Diego multifamily: 5.0 percent in Q3, compared with 4.8 percent in Q2, an increase of 0.2 percentage points.
- Orange County multifamily: 3.6 percent in Q3, compared with 3.7 percent in Q2, a decline of 0.1 percentage points.
- Inland Empire multifamily: 5.7 percent in Q3, compared with 5.8 percent in Q2, a decline of 0.1 percentage points.
In this set of reports, Orange County had the lowest Q3 vacancy and the Inland Empire the highest. A higher level does not necessarily mean vacancy was rising: the Inland Empire figure declined from Q2. Each report credits CoStar as a data source. The reports do not provide enough inventory-selection detail to establish that every publisher measures an identical set of properties.
Keep other publishers’ estimates separate
Matthews’ Los Angeles Q3 2025 report, published October 14, 2025, reports 5.3 percent vacancy. Retain that estimate and Kidder Mathews’ 5.2 percent with their respective sources. The difference is 0.1 percentage points; the reports do not establish a statistical margin of error for that difference.
The Lee & Associates report titled San Diego North County, CA Multifamily lists Q3 2025 vacancy at 5.4 percent and Q2 at 5.2 percent. Its quarter-to-quarter increase was 0.2 percentage points. Its title names North County, while the report’s narrative discusses San Diego more broadly. The precise inventory boundary is not fully specified, so keep its title and source attached instead of treating it as interchangeable with Kidder Mathews’ San Diego figure.
Use the archived report for a historical comparison. A publisher’s changing market-report landing page may now display a newer quarter. For a decision today, obtain the relevant current report and comparable-property evidence rather than relying on these Q3 2025 figures.
Connect the market report to the building
Compare similar unit types, locations, conditions and reporting periods. At the property, identify which homes are vacant, whether they are ready to show, how long they have been available and the approved asking terms. Then follow inquiries through responses, completed tours, applications and leases. A vacant apartment awaiting repairs presents a different problem from a ready apartment receiving tours without applications.
Construction, migration, employment and affordability can inform that investigation. Verify the local evidence and timing before assigning a cause. An Inland Empire vacancy figure alone does not show that logistics employment caused the vacancy; an Orange County figure does not establish that its construction pipeline caused lower vacancy. Compare actual competing inventory, concessions and achieved rents before deciding what applies to the building.
Separate empty homes from unpaid rent and concessions. Our rent roll and resident-ledger guide explains how scheduled charges, payments and credits answer different questions. Use consistent dates so a collection delay does not become a vacancy claim.
Calculate vacancy cost with rent and a time period
A monthly rent allowance
Hypothetical example: Assume a fictional 50-unit property with every unit renting for $2,400 per month. Monthly potential rent is 50 × $2,400 = $120,000. An assumed 5 percent rental-income allowance for vacancy is $120,000 × 0.05 = $6,000 per month. All inputs are invented for this illustration. Confirm the actual unit count and rent basis before using the calculation in a property budget.
At the same assumed rent, ten units have $24,000 monthly potential rent. One percent of that amount is $240 per month. For the 50-unit example, one percentage point of the $120,000 potential rent is $1,200 per month. A percentage cannot become a dollar cost without the rent basis, unit count and period.
Physical vacancy and percentage points
In a 50-unit building, one empty home is 2 percent physical vacancy, two are 4 percent and three are 6 percent. A 5 percent planning allowance represents 2.5 units at equal rents on average; it is not a literal count of empty homes at a single moment. A move from 5 percent to 6 percent is an increase of one percentage point, or 20 percent relative to the starting rate.
Physical vacancy counts empty units. Rental-income loss is measured in dollars and can differ when rents vary, homes are vacant for only part of a month, concessions apply or occupied homes have unpaid charges. Calculate those items separately from the actual records. The simplified allowance above is not a measurement of all lost income, NOI or investment return.
Work through a leasing choice
Consider a separate fictional choice for one $2,400 apartment: a $100 monthly rent reduction lasting all 12 months would reduce scheduled rent by $1,200. One additional full month of vacancy at the original rent would mean $2,400 of uncollected potential rent. If the reduction actually avoided that month, the simplified difference would be $1,200 in favor of leasing sooner. Calculate the effect under both start-date scenarios; this comparison assumes that the reduction avoids one full month of vacancy.
Compare the actual start dates, lease duration, concessions, expenses, future rent effects and applicable requirements. A partial month needs a separate calculation. Use the property’s existing approval process before changing or advertising terms. Compare the 12-month collections and expenses as well as the initial vacancy cost.
Pricing is one response. Review whether the listing accurately shows the available home, its photos, costs and response path. Flexible lease terms, pet terms and energy-efficient features should be actual, verified offerings. Our rental-listing guide provides a worked example of connecting those facts. If prospects cannot arrange a visit, investigate response and showing coverage before attributing the problem to price.
Keep retention in the same review: unresolved maintenance, renewal questions, resident feedback and the cost of a likely turnover. Budget renewal incentives and community activities against the identified resident need and expected turnover cost. For a portfolio, compare exposure by property, financing and local demand. Compare how local demand, employment and financing could be affected by the same event before assigning a diversification benefit.
Review the decision with the property records
Present the dated market context alongside the building’s vacancy days, readiness, leasing activity and income calculation. State the proposed change, its cost, the evidence supporting it and the next period for review. Preserve the earlier figures so later results can be compared without assuming every change was caused by the intervention.
If you want to discuss management support for a rental property, contact Coastline Equity with the property location and the leasing or reporting question.
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