Ventura's Multifamily Sector Sees 23% Surge in Investment Activity

The multifamily sector in Venture is experiencing a robust level of investment activity, while most other CRE fundamentals have seen only minor fluctuations, a report from CBRE finds.

Investment sales in the California market for the asset class hit $117.6 million in the fourth quarter, up around 23 percent from the previous three months. A big chunk of the activity came from Tom Redfern & Assocs' $88 million purchase of a 255-unit property Ventura Del Sol. Advanced Real Estate Services also had a major purchase, with its $20 million acquisition of YOLO EAST.

Absorption also saw strong growth. Total units more than doubled to 177 compared with 78 in the September quarter.

At the end of 2024, the occupancy rate was 96.1 percent, up 10 basis points quarter-over-quarter. However, the level is still well down from the 2021 peak of around 98.6 percent. Vacancies were the highest in Simi Valley/ Moorpark and Thousands Oaks, at 4.3 percent and 4.2 percent respectively.

While the average rent per unit at $2,707 was down two cents in the fourth quarter — the category has grown significantly since 2020 when the median was around $2,250. For unit types, rent growth year-over-year in Ventura was 0.8 percent for one bedrooms and 0.3 percent for three bedrooms. Meanwhile, two bedrooms and studios saw declines of 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Deliveries in the fourth quarter totaled 128 units after none were recorded in the previous three months.

Overall, CBRE referred to Ventura's multifamily sector as a market that has "stabilized fundamentals" thanks to absorption recovery in the second half of the year.