Tenants in Los Angeles and Orange counties may have some new rental options in their future, as apartment developers started 2026 with a splash — filing the second-highest number of building plans in the past 36 years.
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My trusty spreadsheet found this construction surge in building permit data from the Census Bureau. These stats estimate plans for new multifamily housing, a segment of construction that primarily consists of apartment complexes.
Permits don’t immediately translate into more choices for tenants, as the construction process is lengthy. And not every permitted project gets built. But it’s hard to complain about more planning for more housing, unless you don’t like more housing.
In the first eight months of 2026, construction permits were filed for 16,643 multifamily units in the two-county metropolitan area. How high is that?
—82% higher than the same period a year earlier.
—The best start to a year since 2015 – and the second best since 1990.
—32% above L.A.-Orange County’s pace over the past 10 years, when California began its homebuilding push to address its housing affordability challenges.
With a longer-term lens, the pace has increased, too. L.A.-Orange County’s 192,101 multifamily permits during the last 10 years marked a 32% increase from the previous decade, an era scarred by the Great Recession.
One active builder
Real estate giant Irvine Co. is an example of who’s building rentals.
The Newport Beach developer is constructing what will eventually be 8,434 apartment units across eight Orange County projects, primarily in Irvine, as well as in Tustin and Newport Beach.
Company officials say construction of roughly 1,000 units was permitted and started last year – with a similar amount set for 2026. The same building pace is anticipated to continue for seven years.
A key trend in Irvine Co.’s apartment push is the use of old retail space and land previously designated for office buildings. The idea is to push housing closer to where residents shop and work.
“There’s quite a group, particularly younger people, looking for that kind of living environment,” Rob Elliott, the company’s senior vice president for planning and design, said last year.
No surge elsewhere
Curiously, multifamily construction plans were slowing elsewhere in Southern California.
The Inland Empire’s 2,384 multifamily permits through August were the slowest start to a year in 2022, down 33% year over year and 8% below the 10-year average.
In San Diego County, the 4,359 multifamily permits through August were the worst start since 2020, down 17% year over year, and 1% below its 10-year average.
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Payoff at last?
Are all the efforts to boost homebuilding in California finally paying off?
In the first eight months of 2026, permits for 36,600 multifamily housing units were granted statewide. Thanks in good part to Los Angeles and Orange counties, that’s a 33% gain in a year and the third-best start to a year since 1990.
And if you look at it over the long term, you see that this year’s multifamily permitting pace is 12% faster than the 10-year average.
Plus, the 502,500 permits issued in the past 10 years represent a 48% improvement over permitting in the burst-bubble-tainted decade before.
Now, it may not be enough construction to solve California’s affordability headaches, but the increased permitting is clearly movement in the right direction.
Plus, it’s 32% above L.A.-Orange County’s pace over the past 10 years.
Cooler nation
California’s multifamily construction surge contrasts with the rest of America.
Years of rapid apartment development haven’t produced enough renters to fill the new units in many parts of the nation. So building has chilled.
Outside of California, 310,400 permits were filed to start in 2026 – up only 2% from the previous year. And this year’s pace is 4% slower than the 10-year average.
Tenant Talk by Jonathan Lansner covers the renter’s world. He’s the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]
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No. 12: 2-year-old Zia apartment complex sells in Anaheim
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