Office Market Stabilizes, Home Prices Peak, and AI Overtakes Biotech
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San Diego's office market posted its second consecutive quarter of positive net absorption in Q2 2026, according to a July 8th report by The Registry. The Eastgate submarket — running along the Sorrento Valley and Miramar corridor — is leading the recovery. Overall office vacancy still stands at 15.4 percent countywide, elevated by historical standards, but two straight positive-absorption quarters signals that the post-pandemic rise in vacancy has stopped and stabilization is underway.
On the residential side, San Diego's detached home median sold price reached an all-time high of $1.1 million in June, driven by low single-family inventory, per Rennie's July 2026 market update. Condos and townhomes are actually trading below year-ago levels due to ample attached inventory. The snapshot: 1,415 detached homes listed countywide, 312 entering escrow over the past 30 days, 709 closing escrow, an average sold price of approximately $1,502,000, and homes averaging just 22 days on market.
San Diego startups are on pace for a record 2026, approaching $5 billion in venture capital investment by midyear. The structural headline is the category shift: AI investment has overtaken life sciences as the primary funding category for the first time. San Diego has spent years building an AI ecosystem, but this is the first midyear point at which it has outpaced the biotech and pharmaceutical sector that has long defined the region's technology identity.
In retail, Bass Pro Shops officially confirmed it will open a 148,000-square-foot anchor store in the former Macy's space at Grossmont Center in La Mesa — the company's first-ever San Diego County location. The store is expected to open in spring 2028, will employ more than 150 workers, and will feature a custom design inspired by the San Diego region. Plans have been submitted to the City of La Mesa for review, and demolition of the former Macy's building could begin as early as 2027. For East County communities including Santee, El Cajon, and Lemon Grove, Grossmont Center is the regional mall anchor, making the Bass Pro announcement economically significant for surrounding businesses and foot traffic across the entire center.