Anaheim is the most economically diverse submarket in Orange County, anchored by the Disneyland Resort corridor, the Convention Center and a large healthcare employment base. Renters make up 55.4 percent of residents, which is what gives occupancy here its durability.
The reason to buy in Anaheim rather than Santa Ana comes down to one number. Anaheim has no local rent ordinance, so you sit under AB 1482, currently 8.7% (2026-08-01 through 2027-07-31). Santa Ana, eight miles south, is capped at 2.87% (2026-09-01 through 2027-08-31) under its own ordinance. That is roughly three to one on how fast you can move a rent, and it changes what kind of business plan is possible. In Anaheim you can underwrite annual increases. In Santa Ana you underwrite turnover and wait.
Pricing supports the case. Price per unit here runs $270,000 to $400,000, against a county average of $338,935 that fell 7.0 percent over the past year while rents rose. All class cap rates sit near 5.6 percent, and that figure is blended. Two to four unit product trades tighter, because the residential financing pool bids it up. The five to ten unit range trades wider, and that is where the yield is.
Building stock is dominated by 1950s to 1970s wood frame stucco, the classic California rental product. City vacancy sits near 4.5 percent against 4.3 percent countywide. New Class A supply is landing in the southern corridor and the Platinum Triangle near Angel Stadium, but that product competes for a different tenant. Small 2 to 10 unit assets in north and west Anaheim are insulated from it.
SB 1211 is the upside most owners here have not run the numbers on. Effective January 2025, it raised the detached ADU cap on multifamily parcels from two to as many as eight, removed replacement parking requirements when uncovered spaces are converted, and allows non habitable conversion up to 25 percent of existing units. Anaheim's 1960s stock sits on generous lots with surface parking the tenants do not fully use. On the right parcel that is the cheapest unit you will ever add, and you do not have to buy anything to capture it.
For an investor who wants stabilized cashflow without an ordinance overlay, Anaheim is the cleanest underwriting environment in Orange County right now. We can model the AB 1482 runway and the ADU upside on a specific parcel before you bid.
