Downtown LA's Multifamily Market Has Surpassed 2019 Occupancy

Downtown Los Angeles has lost some of its shine in the last five years, like every other urban core in the country. But Angelenos are still forking over big bucks to live there, in much the same numbers as they did before the pandemic.

Multifamily occupancy in the first quarter was 90.8%, up from 84.7% in 2019, according to data from business group DTLA Alliance. 

Rents in Downtown are creeping up too. Average effective rents reached $2,838 in Q1, within a couple of dollars of Q1 2023’s $2,841, the highest average effective rent over the last five years, according to DTLA Alliance reports from that period.

“The numbers have reinforced that the appeal of downtown living continues to be strong and that the market [in LA] continues to be strong,” DTLA Alliance Executive Vice President Nick Griffin said. 

Some of 2019's higher vacancy can be attributed to a sizable construction pipeline at the time. In Q1 2019, 2,276 rentable units came online, compared to just 507 in Q1 2025. 

The perception of Downtown that rang true in the pandemic — that of a neighborhood that was totally cleared out by remote work — has been hard to shake, even among some who work there.  

The neighborhood certainly has its challenges: the lack of workday foot traffic, small-business troubles and perceptions of the neighborhood as unsafe. 

Many felt that the movement to turn Los Angeles’ Downtown and downtowns in general into residential hubs for young professionals and the well-to-do had suffered a blow from which it might not recover, Griffin said.

But the strong occupancy and relatively high average rents suggest the market is, at least by the numbers, solid. The neighborhood has approximately 90,000 residents and is expected to keep growing. It is zoned to hold 20% of the city’s new residential development on about 1% of its land over the next 15 years or so.

“The neighborhood part has felt really, really consistent, and I think the occupancy numbers really show that part’s been pretty steady, but also from a lived experience on the ground, like, that's what you see,” said Cassy Horton, co-founder and board member of the Downtown Los Angeles Residents Association.

The rent isn't cheap, either.

The Beaudry, a 64-story Brookfield property that opened in 2023, is asking between approximately $2,500 and $3,200 monthly for studio floor plans. The largest units, at three bedrooms, can reach up to $11K per month. The 785-unit development is 90% occupied and saw a 34% increase in lease-up in May over April, according to a representative for Brookfield.

The neighborhood’s transformation from a 9-to-5 commuter district was and still is shaped by the effects of the pandemic, but residents say they feel that the residential component of the neighborhood is not only growing but also evolving.

“We have a real concentration of a residential community that wasn't here in the same numbers 10 years ago,” Horton said. “I think that is the exciting part about being Downtown right now, is we are this other iteration of what Downtown is going to be.”

Horton, a nonprofit CEO who moved to LA to attend college, has been in Downtown for three years. She said the other DTLA residents she has met through the association are a diverse group, but many of them are drawn to the walkable nature of Downtown and came to the neighborhood to get a uniquely urban experience. 

“If you stayed here after Covid or moved here after Covid, you're probably really invested in the unique strengths of Downtown that many other neighborhoods can't offer,” Horton said. 

The neighborhood isn't without challenges. Public safety is residents’ top concern, according to a resident survey the business improvement district published in March, and while 67% of respondents said they love living in DTLA, only 44% said they think DTLA is moving in the right direction. 

The survey of more than 1,200 Downtown residents found that 35% of respondents plan to live in Downtown for six years or more, and 20% of DTLA resident respondents have already spent between 11 and 19 years living in Downtown.

“The average length of time that people have lived there and the average length of time that they expect they will live there have both gotten longer, so not only are people not leaving, they are more committed than ever,” Griffin said. 

Downtown boosters acknowledged that perceptions of safety remain a critical factor for the neighborhood’s continued success. Interestingly enough, some are looking to a near-term return to the office as a beacon of hope. 

It is true that the area's office market is still struggling, but a slow turnaround in the nation's office fortunes is underway.

Government workers made up a significant number of workers in Downtown before the pandemic, and their return could be a turning point for the neighborhood, according to Central City Association President and CEO Nella McOsker.

“We saw the governor announce a mandate of four days a week for state employees. The county and the city need to match that,” McOsker said. “If they did, it would be one of the most transformational changes to daytime foot traffic in Downtown.”

Horton and the residents association are taking action on the governmental front, banding together to voice their concerns and taking action on their priorities.

The organization submitted a letter on the city budget process advocating for better street safety interventions like operational streetlights, mental health response teams and maintenance of city green spaces as some of their neighborhood's needs. 

As Downtown’s already sizable resident population grows, Horton said she sees an incredible opportunity in the segment finding its voice — one that is different from the voice of business owners and other stakeholders in the area. 

“The fact that what the future of downtown looks like can be so much more heavily influenced by a residential perspective is really, really exciting,” Horton said. “I think it's really good for Downtown.”