Multifamily Investors Wade Deeper Into Los Angeles

The multifamily market in Los Angeles County has been on the upswing over the past two years after some previous investor hesitation.

The amount of multifamily units sold in L.A. County increased in both 2024 and 2025 since hitting a post-pandemic low in 2023, Commercial Observer reported, citing a fourth-quarter report from Kidder Mathews. Almost 30,000 units across L.A. County traded hands in 2025, up from fewer than 20,000 units sold in 2020, which was even lower than the peak pandemic figures of 2020.

Measure ULA, the controversial transfer tax that levies between 4 and 5.5 percent on property sales higher than $5 million, was enacted in April 2023. The legislation appeared to scare away investors, as a study by the University of California, Los Angeles, last year found that multifamily sales volume fell by as much as 50 percent after Measure ULA was enacted, per CO. Kidder Mathews’ new report seemingly upholds those findings, noting a large drop in unit sales between 2022 and 2023 before the rebound of the past two years. Total revenue from Measure ULA since its enactment surpassed $1 billion earlier this month.

The latest sales volume numbers in L.A. County indicate that investor demand is improving despite the increased tax liability and property prices. Average multifamily unit price fell 3 percent year-over-year to $278,000, according to Kidder Mathews’ report, while average rent prices were flat compared to 2024. Vacancy hit 5.6 percent and has been trending upward every year since 2021, per CO.

Multiple nine-figure deals closed in the fourth quarter. Last month, Madison International Realty made the priciest multifamily purchase last quarter with the $161.2 million acquisition of the El Centro Apartments & Bungalows in Hollywood. The second-priciest sale of the quarter was Carmel Partners’ $141 million pickup of the Stella apartments in Marina del Rey, followed by Kennedy Wilson spending $135 million for The Chadwick in Koreatown, and Eagle Partners dropping $107 million for the Hills at Hacienda Heights residential community.

— Chris Malone Méndez