UCLA Real Estate Wire

GlobeSt.com: "Market Correction Could Revive Affordable Housing"

"A recent report from UCLA Anderson Forecast took a close look at naturally occurring affordable housing, and found that capital is showing increasing interest in workforce housing as the probability of a recession increases. If a recession strikes in the next two years, it could revive the market.

" 'That seems likely, especially if there is a market correction or downturn over the next year or two,' " Maya Saraf, UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA 2019 alumna, tells GlobeSt.com. 'A lot of current research points to a softening in demand for class-A properties, with a corresponding strengthening in demand for class-B and C properties. Moreover, if there is a recession, there will likely be even greater demand for affordable units, particularly from workers who lose their jobs or suffer pay cuts.' "

[GS: 9/6/2019]

Form Magazine: "UCLA Brief – ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’ is Disappearing"

"The disappearance of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) remains a persistent problem in high-cost metropolitan areas of the United States. The term NOAH refers to existing Class B and C housing built prior to the 1990s, which is generally affordable for middle- and low-income households. Rents charged for NOAH multifamily units are typically lower than those charged at market-rate units due to their age, condition, outdated design, location, and, in some cities, rent control laws. NOAH often serves as 'workforce housing' because it tends to be affordable for middle-income workers who earn between 80% to 100% of Area Median Income (AMI). This segment of the workforce usually includes teachers, accountants, office managers, and nurses who often are unable to afford rents charged at luxury buildings. In addition to subsidized affordable housing, NOAH is a critical piece to meeting the demand for affordable housing in high-cost cities."

[Author of this Policy Brief is UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA alumna Maya Saraf.]

[Form Magazine: 9/6/2019]

Next City: "What Glendale’s Not-Rent-Control Law Means For Affordable Housing in the City"

"As major cities in the U.S. become increasingly unaffordable, unsubsidized affordable housing is ever more crucial in meeting the demand for affordable housing. Unsubsidized affordable housing refers to Class B and C housing built in the 1960s through 1980s, which is generally affordable for middle- and low-income households. Rents at these buildings are typically below market due to factors such as the age, condition, outdated design, or location of the building, or sometimes due to rent control laws that may govern an area."

[Author of this Policy Brief is UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA alumna Maya Saraf.]

[NC:9/4/2019]

GlobeSt.com: "Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Is Disappearing"

" 'Naturally occurring affordable housing is a critical piece of meeting the demand for affordable housing in high-cost cities,' Maya Saraf, UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA 2019 alumna, tells GlobeSt.com. 'Because there is not enough new affordable units being built, it is critically important to preserve the existing supply of affordable units, which includes NOAH.  Building new affordable housing, such as those built with federal low-income housing tax credits, is besot by challenges including restrictive zoning, nimbyism, and rapidly escalating construction costs. Providing enough affordable housing in high-cost cities requires multiple solutions in addition to building new affordable housing.' "

[GS: 9/4/2019]

Los Angeles Times: "These six developers say they can build housing for homeless people faster and cheaper"

"All HHH projects leverage the city money with other sources of local, state and federal funds in complex packages that stretch out the development time. Most of the innovation proposals had simpler financing plans, some of which target non-public sources...

"Daylight Community Development, meanwhile, said it would replace part of the HHH money it would receive with a bank loan after three years based on a commitment for rental subsidies from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services...

"Daylight Community Development would receive $23.8 million to build 132 supportive units in shipping containers. A portion of the HHH funds would be repaid after three years with private financing."

[LAT: 8/24/2019]

Fox News: "California residents fleeing to Nevada and Arizona as high taxes, home prices force them out"

"While out-migration is a concern for California, Stuart Gabriel, the director of the Richard S. Ziman Center for real estate at the University of California Los Angeles said the state will remain a powerhouse in the U.S and abroad.

"'Will California continue to see out-migration? Yes. Will California continue to be threatened by this out-migration? Yes. Will the high cost of housing in California be cured overnight? No. Are we building a lot of affordable housing in California? Yes. Are we building enough of that affordable housing? No,' Gabriel said, adding that 'California in some respects is a victim of its own success.'"

[Fox: 7/24/2019]

The Real Deal: "'A very dangerous precedent:' Real estate industry reacts to NY’s sweeping rent reform measures"

"Paul Habibi, a University of California Los Angeles professor and himself a real estate investor, said he is against rent control. But, he anticipates New York’s new regulations will create momentum.

"'I hate to say it but it’s probably going to create more tailwind for these initiatives,' Habibi said. 'We’re probably not going to get anything in the next year, but these things don’t have to evolve overnight — they can take a few years and be just as punitive.'"

[TRD: 6/14/2019]

Los Angeles Business Journal: "Third Street Promenade Building Sold for $24.5M"

""The private sector needs to know that money can be made in affordable housing,' said Ziman Center Executive Director Tim Kawahara in a statement. “If the only housing starts are luxury, there will never be enough affordable housing. This crisis cuts into the urban workforce if people can’t afford to live where they work, threatening our region’s economic viability.'

"The program, called the Howard and Irene Levine Affordable Housing Development Program, started in the fall. Roughly 140 people applied for 24 spaces. The class size has increased to 30 students. A call for applicants went out at the end of February.

"'We know of no other major research university that’s taken on this societal challenge in this way,” Stuart Gabriel, the Ziman Center’s director, said in a statement. 'We will grade ourselves on how successful we are in getting graduates of this training to develop affordable housing.'" 

[LABJ: 3/1/2019]

UCLA Luskin:"‘Affordable Housing Development Isn’t Rocket Science,’ Ling Declares"

"Urban Planning lecturer Joan Ling shared her expertise in housing development with the first class of the Howard and Irene Levine Affordable Housing Development Program, featured in the Blau Journal and the Architect’s Newspaper. The UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate hosted the training program for entry-level professionals to illuminate the constraints and opportunities of housing development in Los Angeles. The training was led by Ling, co-director of the Levine program, and other UCLA faculty and housing experts. On the first day of training, Ling declared, "“Affordable housing development isn’t rocket science. It needs two things, land and money. Since there isn’t enough land, it’s land-use policy that needs expanding.”" The success of the program in its first year has led the Ziman Center to increase the class size for 2019 and make it an annual program, the first of its kind among top U.S. universities."

[UCLA Luskin: 2/22/2019]

Los Angeles Business Journal: "AIDS Healthcare Foundation Sues Over Crossroads Hollywood Project"

"Proponents of the project have argued that it would create jobs and much needed housing.

"“There are a couple of folks in the Hollywood submarket that have used litigation to stay and stymie several projects,” UCLA Anderson School of Management professor Eric Sussman said.

Sussman added that efforts to stop and curtail projects is not new but has been very visible in Hollywood because of groups like the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that “actively use the courts.”"

[LABJ: 2/21/2019]