San Diego, CA Commercial Real Estate

San Diego is a premier coastal commercial real estate market characterized by constrained supply, a diversified economy anchored by defense, life sciences, tourism, and higher education, and some of the lowest cap rates in the country. The metro benefits from year-round temperate weather, a highly educated workforce, and the presence of major military installations including Naval Base San Diego, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

The life sciences sector has been a transformative force in San Diego CRE, with the Torrey Pines/UTC corridor emerging as one of the top three biotech clusters in the nation alongside Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Companies like Illumina, Dexcom, and numerous venture-backed startups have driven extraordinary demand for lab and R&D space, pushing rents and development activity in the Sorrento Mesa, Sorrento Valley, and Torrey Pines submarkets. This sector has been the primary growth engine for the office market while traditional office space has faced headwinds elsewhere.

The multifamily market in San Diego is one of the most supply-constrained in California, with strict height limits, coastal development restrictions, and community opposition limiting new construction. This scarcity has supported strong rent growth and low vacancy rates historically, making San Diego multifamily a favored asset class for institutional and private investors seeking stable, inflation-protected returns.