LA Apartment Sales Volume Is Up 47%. Price Per Unit Is Down 4.7%. What That Split Means for Downtown.

Published July 26, 2026

Greater LA apartment sales volume hit $1.58 billion through Q2 2026, up 47% year over year, while the average price per unit fell to $394,867, down 4.7%. More deals are closing at lower per door prices.

Greater Los Angeles apartment sales volume reached $1.58 billion year to date through the second quarter of 2026, up 47 percent from the same period last year, according to Colliers' Greater Los Angeles Multifamily Research Report. Over that same stretch, the average price per unit fell to $394,867, down 4.7 percent year over year. More buildings are trading. They are trading for less per door.

The numbers, and what geography they actually cover

I want to be precise about this one, because it is easy to round a countywide number down to a single neighborhood and call it a day. Colliers' figures, the $1.58 billion in year to date sales volume, the 47 percent increase, and the $394,867 average price per unit down 4.7 percent, are Greater Los Angeles numbers. They cover the county's multifamily market as a whole, not a Downtown LA specific submarket breakout. The report does not publish a DTLA only price per unit or volume figure in the sections available without the full downloadable report.

That matters for how you read this. If you own near Downtown, this data tells you what is happening in the market your building competes in and gets valued against, not a number pulled directly off your block. Brokers pricing a Downtown adjacent building this year are working from comps and a countywide trend line that both point the same direction: more transactions, softer per unit pricing.

The same report notes occupancy across Greater LA held flat quarter over quarter at 93.9 percent but remains 80 basis points below where it stood a year ago, and average effective rent ticked up eight dollars to $2,442 per unit for the quarter, though rent is still down slightly, about 0.7 percent, year over year. New construction has slowed sharply too. Only 666 units broke ground in the second quarter, down from 4,599 in the first quarter.

Why volume is up while price per unit is falling

This is not a contradiction. It is what a market resetting toward a new normal usually looks like. When financing costs stay elevated and rent growth is flat to slightly negative, sellers who have to move, whether for refinancing, partnership, or life circumstances, adjust their price expectations to what buyers will actually pay. Buyers, in turn, see pricing they consider more reasonable relative to current income, and transaction volume picks up.

The slowdown in new construction reinforces this. Only 666 units started in the second quarter is a sharp drop from the 4,599 that broke ground in the first quarter. Fewer new units competing for tenants down the road supports the case that today's softer per unit pricing is a buying opportunity for well capitalized investors rather than a sign of a market in decline. Volume up, price per unit down, and construction pulling back all point toward a market working through a pricing correction rather than losing fundamental demand.

What this means for your building

If you own a multifamily property near Downtown LA, the practical takeaway is that comps softened over the past year even as more deals closed. If you are weighing a sale, that means today's per unit pricing environment is more competitive for buyers than it was a year or two ago, and a broker's opening number should reflect that shift, not last cycle's peak pricing.

If you are holding, the flat to slightly declining occupancy and rent figures are worth watching without overreacting to them. Occupancy at 93.9 percent and rent essentially flat year over year is not a market in freefall. It is a market catching its breath after a run of higher rent growth, with buyers stepping back in at prices they find more attractive. Neither of those things changes the fundamentals of a well located, well managed building, but they are useful context the next time you think about your building's value or whether to refinance.

Common questions

Does the 4.7 percent drop in price per unit mean my Downtown building lost value?

Not necessarily, and not by a fixed amount. The 4.7 percent figure is a Greater LA average across many submarkets and building types. Your building's value depends on its own rent roll, condition, location, and recent comparable sales nearby, which can move differently than the countywide average. A current appraisal or broker opinion of value is the only way to know where your specific building stands.

Why would sales volume rise 47 percent while pricing is falling?

Falling per unit pricing tends to bring buyers off the sidelines, especially investors who held off during the higher pricing of the last couple of years. More willing buyers meeting sellers who need to transact, whether for financing, partnership changes, or other reasons, produces more closed deals even as the average price per door comes down.

Is now a good time to sell or hold near Downtown LA?

That depends on your specific goals, financing situation, and building, not on a countywide statistic. The volume and pricing trends here are useful context for a conversation with a broker or financial advisor about your building specifically, not a signal to act on their own.

Last verified: July 25, 2026. Figures cited from Colliers' Greater Los Angeles Multifamily Research Report, Q2 2026. These are Greater Los Angeles countywide figures; the report does not publish a Downtown LA specific price per unit or volume breakout. This is general information for property owners, not investment or legal advice. Confirm current pricing, valuation, and financing terms with a broker or licensed professional before acting.

Kellie

Schofield Properties

323 Richmond Street, El Segundo, CA 90245

Topics: investing, downtown-la, central-la, market-trends

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