San Diego, California
San Diego Apartment Loans in 2026
We price San Diego apartment loans with the City's just-cause rules, its 30-foot coastal height limit and its per-unit rental tax built in, and each request goes to bridge funds, conduit (CMBS) desks, HUD lenders, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and banks before we recommend a lender. Loans start at $1,500,000, LTV tops out at 80%, and pricing on a stabilized building can open at 6.14%. For a larger property, see San Diego multifamily loans; other California cities are handled through California apartment loans; and our posted commercial mortgage rates show pricing for each program. Applying and processing cost you nothing.
Get a Free QuoteSan Diego Hiring Picks Up as New Apartments Lease Slowly
September 2026 brought the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro to 1,572,500 nonfarm jobs (preliminary, not seasonally adjusted), a 1.3% annual gain that tops every other month in BLS's April-to-September table. Education and health services, the fastest-growing sector, reached 287,700 jobs, 5.3% more than a year before; information lost 5.6% and government 1.0%, and the August jobless rate was a preliminary 4.9%.
HUD's Market at a Glance, created February 23, 2026, rated metro rental conditions balanced at about 5.0% vacancy and the apartment market balanced as well. Apartment vacancy, by the CoStar Group count HUD cites, rose from 4.7% to 5.4% over the year to 2025's final quarter, and HUD traces the rise to just 66% of the 7,975 units delivered that year being absorbed. Another 11,400 were under way; HUD's July 2024 analysis had put about two-thirds of the units then being built inside the city.
San Diego Rents, the Bases and the Biggest Payrolls
Apartment List's latest figures, from its October 2026 report, show San Diego's all-unit median at $2,317, up just 0.5% on the year, trailing California's 2.5% and close to the national -0.4%. RentCafe, which draws on every city complex with 50-plus units, listed San Diego's average at $3,046 on its September 30, 2026 page, a 2.3% rise from $2,977, and puts renters at 53% of households.
HUD's 2024 employer table for the metro starts with Naval Base San Diego (55,000) and lists UC San Diego (38,700), Sharp HealthCare (19,000) and Qualcomm (11,500). UC San Diego reports total campus enrollment of 45,087 students. Midway Rising would put 4,254 homes, 2,000 of them affordable, on the Sports Arena site; SB 344, signed September 29, 2026, lets the City rely on its environmental reports, and a City Council committee approved the plan unanimously on October 16, sending it to the full council. Lenders underwrite the current rent roll, not that pipeline.
San Diego Apartment Loan Rates
Rates updated as of October 29, 2026
Table rates presume stabilized occupancy and bound insurance. If a San Diego apartment loan covers a parcel in FEMA's A or V zones or a mapped fire hazard zone, count those premiums before comparing offers.
| Loan Type | Rate* | Max LTV |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Year Fixed | 6.54% | Up to 80% |
| 7 Year Fixed | 6.57% | Up to 80% |
| 10 Year Fixed | 6.61% | Up to 80% |
- Cash-out refinances are acceptable
- Interest-only and non-recourse options
- Minimum 1.25x debt-service-coverage ratio
See San Diego Multifamily Rates Over $6 Million, Starting at 6.14%
Rates last updated October 29, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Uptown, Downtown and the Coast: San Diego Neighborhood Notes
The City permitted 1,527 homes in 2024 in Uptown, which it says includes Hillcrest, Mission Hills, Bankers Hill/Park West and University Heights, more than in any other community plan area; over 2021 through 2024, Downtown led with 3,407. In RentCafe's September 2026 table, Carmel Valley sits first at $4,078 and Colina del Sol last at $1,665. The Coastal Resilience Master Plan, adopted September 9, 2025, slated four pilot sites for initial engineering, including Tourmaline Surf Park in Pacific Beach and Sunset Cliffs.
Chula Vista, National City and La Mesa are separate cities, though we lend there too. Within city limits, we place San Diego apartment loans in neighborhoods such as:
- Gaslamp Quarter
- Little Italy
- East Village
- Hillcrest
- Mission Hills
- Bankers Hill
- University Heights
- North Park
- Golden Hill
- Normal Heights
- Kensington
- City Heights
- Barrio Logan
- Mission Valley
- Point Loma
- Ocean Beach
- Pacific Beach
- La Jolla
The San Diego Lender Menu, Program by Program
Coastal low-rises, Uptown infill and downtown towers can draw different lenders, so every San Diego file runs past these programs:
| Program | Typical rate* | Max leverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fannie Mae Small Loan | 6.54% | Up to 80% | Non-recourse, fixed to 30 yrs |
| Freddie Mac SBL | 6.60% | Up to 80% | $2M to $10M small balance |
| FHA / HUD | 6.74% | Up to 85% | Highest leverage, longest term |
| Bank / portfolio | 6.50% | Up to 75% | Flexible, value-add |
| Bridge | 9.00% | Up to 80% LTC | Reposition, lease-up |
The 1.25x coverage minimum applies here too, measured after the City's Rental Unit Business Tax, a property tax bill reassessed at purchase and any flood or fire premium come out of income. For larger balances, see San Diego multifamily loans.
Rates last updated October 29, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Just Cause, Business Tax, the Coastal Height Limit and Hazard Maps in San Diego
Just cause from day one. Since June 24, 2023, Municipal Code Chapter 9, Article 8, Division 7 has said that "A landlord shall not terminate a tenancy without just cause," for any occupancy over 30 days except a fixed-term lease of three months or less. No-fault terminations require relocation aid of two months' actual rent, or three for tenants 62 or older or disabled. Housing under 15 years from its certificate of occupancy is exempt. Older units also generally face the state cap, listed by the Attorney General at 8.2% for San Diego County increases in the year from August 1, 2026, down from 8.8%.
Business tax and short-term rental caps. The City Treasurer's Rental Unit Business Tax, generally due March 1, charges apartment parcels of 2 to 10 units $50 plus $5 a unit, 11 to 100 units $57 plus $9, and 101 or more $150 plus $8. Short-term rentals have required a license since May 1, 2023; whole-home licenses for more than 20 days a year are capped, and no license is transferable.
Transfer tax, Prop 13 and default timing. Chicago Title's 2026 guide shows San Diego County collecting $1.10 per $1,000 of value in documentary transfer tax, a seller expense by custom, with no City of San Diego surcharge. Prop 13 limits the base rate to 1% plus voter-approved debt and resets assessed value at a sale; the county's 2026 roll hit a record $845 billion, up 4.86%, and its largest dollar increase, $16.6 billion, came in the City of San Diego. Under Civil Code 2924, a trustee's sale comes at least three months after a recorded default notice.
Thirty feet near the ocean. Proposition D, effective December 7, 1972, bars any building or addition taller than thirty feet in the city's Coastal Zone, from the northern city limits to the Mexican border and inland to where Interstate 5 sat on January 1, 1971, minus mapped exceptions such as the bayfront land between Laurel Street and National City. Courts struck down Midway's 2022 exemption, and the Council repealed it under court order on August 24, 2026.
Storms and fire maps. On January 22, 2024, 2.73 inches fell at Lindbergh Field, the fourth-highest daily total in San Diego records dating to 1850. Federally regulated lenders need flood coverage on buildings in FEMA zones lettered A or V, and NFIP building limits for five-plus-unit structures top out at $500,000. Ordinance 21992 (final passage July 31, 2025) applies an updated fire hazard severity zone map to building permit applications deemed complete after August 30, 2025.
Financing Options in San Diego
From a Normal Heights eight-unit to a downtown tower, San Diego requests go to one of these lender groups:
Beyond San Diego County, California apartment loans covers Los Angeles, Fresno, Sacramento and other cities statewide.
San Diego Refinancing With Flat Rents and Rising Costs
A refinance changes no ownership, so Prop 13 leaves the assessed value on its path of at most 2% a year. Meanwhile, Apartment List had San Diego's median rent just 0.5% above a year earlier in its October 2026 report, while BLS measured local consumer prices up 4.7% in the year to September.
For a renovation, the substantial-remodel rule requires permits in hand before a no-fault notice, work that keeps tenants out at least 30 continuous days, and two or three months' actual rent for each displaced tenant.
San Diego Apartment Building Loans From the 30-Foot Coast to Downtown Towers
In 2024 the City permitted 6,166 homes in developments of two or more units, 70% of all homes permitted, plus a record 2,285 ADUs. We finance:
- Low-rise buildings in the Coastal Height Limit Overlay Zone
- Downtown high-rise and mid-rise towers
- Infill permitted under Complete Communities
- Rentals near UC San Diego
- Mixed-income apartment complexes
- Older garden-style complexes
Bigger San Diego Communities and the Multifamily Lenders That Bid on Them
On large San Diego properties, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae lenders can advance 80% of value with a term of up to 30 years and no personal recourse beyond standard carve-outs. FHA/HUD financing amortizes longest, to 40 years on a fully amortizing FHA Risk Share loan per Fannie Mae's term sheet. CMBS is the other non-recourse route; banks bend on structure but often want recourse. Past the 15-year exemption, each will review the City's just-cause and relocation rules.
Local program detail sits on San Diego multifamily loans; each agency's own page, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, covers the rest.
San Diego Multifamily Loan Rates
For larger balances, over $6 million
Hotels, Offices, Storefronts and Storage: Other San Diego Loans
Hotels, offices and shopping centers in a San Diego portfolio can be financed alongside the apartments:
Nearby Apartment Loan Markets
Investors with Los Angeles, Riverside or Bay Area buildings can continue below:
Los Angeles · San Jose · Sacramento · Lancaster · Stockton · Long Beach · Oakland · Pasadena · Riverside · San Bernardino · San Francisco · Concord · Fresno · All California · Other U.S. cities
Recent Apartment Loan Closings
The loans pictured below closed in other states; a San Diego request is shopped to competing lenders in the same way.
What Our Clients Say
“I am a veterinarian who purchased an existing practice. I was surprised to find a company that offered 100% financing at a good rate, with great terms and rates for medical office financing.”
Carol K. · Chicago, IL“I spoke to several commercial lenders before finding Select Commercial. They got me a lower rate and their service was exceptional. If you need a multifamily loan, you need to talk to Stephen.”
Nathan B. · Philadelphia, PA“Select Commercial was very helpful with my multifamily mortgage. Stephen went over several options and we came up with the best lender to meet my needs. I got the funds and also lowered my payments.”
Gary M. · Portland, OR“Select Commercial offered 100% financing for my medical practice when my bank would have required 20% down. They delivered something my bank could not, and handled everything professionally.”
John C. · Boston, MAGet Your San Diego Apartment Loan Quote
Gather a current rent roll, the trailing year's operating statements, the latest Rental Unit Business Tax bill, insurance declarations showing flood and fire coverage, and any remodel permits or relocation notices; we then shop the San Diego file and send back each lender's written terms.
- No application or processing fees
- Written answers within 48 hours
- For 5+ unit and commercial properties, $1.5M and up