UCLA Real Estate Wire

GlobeSt.com:"Why Tech Firms Will Focus on Profitability Over Growth in 2020"

" 'Venture capital will no longer fund these continuous losses any more. They will stop funding these companies until they see a path to profitability,' David Shulman, senior economist for the Ziman Center and UCLA Anderson Forecast, tells GlobeSt.com. 'Tech firms will have to go for profitability as opposed to just going for growth.' "

[GS: 1/6/2020]

The Real Deal: "The $100M club: LA’s priciest mansions are having a moment "

"Paul Habibi, a finance and real estate professor at UCLA, said there appears to be a greater willingness for the ultra-wealthy to buy acres of land in fairly urban areas of Bel Air and Beverly Hills.

" 'It is encouraging to sellers when a new high-water mark is set,' Habibi said. But Habibi also cautioned against reading too much into a handful of monster sales in six months.

" 'Four homebuyers does not establish a data set,' he said."

[TRD: 12/13/2019]

Washington Post: Are transit-oriented developments the answer to the affordable housing shortage"

"Paul Habibi, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles’s Ziman Center for Real Estate, said there is a shortage of 500,000 affordable units in Los Angeles, which TODs can help address.

" 'There’s a widespread belief that the affordability problem needs to be solved from the supply side,” Habibi said. 'Density is one mechanism by which to have that happen, because developers can increase the number of units in any given community.'

"He added that reducing parking requirements is key because parking can add $100,000 to the cost of building a typical condo, which is then passed on to the resident."

[WP: 11/21/2019]

Los Angeles Times: "Legendary Bel-Air estate Casa Encantada lists for the highest price in America: $225 million"

" 'It is not unusual to start seeing a glut of supply in any property type, mansions included, this late in an expansion cycle,” UCLA real estate professor Paul Habibi said. 'Oftentimes [developers] have a herd mentality about introducing more inventory into the market.' "

" 'The conventional wisdom is that so long as you’re not the last one without a seat when the music stops, you’ll make out OK,' he said.'

[LAT: 10/16/2019]

Bisnow: "Top CRE Execs Answer 3 Important Questions On The Future Of WeWork"

Eric Sussman Adjunct professor of accounting and real estate, UCLA; Founding partner, Clear Capital LLC; Los Angeles

Will the attitude of landlords and the office market toward WeWork change after everything we’ve learned?

No question. I have no doubt that WeWork’s reputation will absolutely tank. It has to. If you look at it from a landlord’s perspective, similar to how they underwrite, they look for the three C's — credit, collateral and character. If you were to analogize this to the landlord market, well, what’s [WeWork’s] credit? That has gone down. Their collateral is now similarly downgraded. And thirdly, character. There are a lot of stories coming out about Mr. Neumann. I know he stepped down, but character seems to be lacking in a number of areas.

[BN: 10/6/2019]

Los Angeles Business Journal: "Creative Thinkers: Hudson Pacific puts priority on LA’s tech and media companies"

"Hudson Pacific’s properties fall under two categories: office buildings and studio spaces.

"Tim Kawahara, executive director at the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, called the group’s projects 'extraordinarily high profile.' Hudson Pacific Chairman and Chief Executive Victor Coleman was one of the Ziman Center’s founding board members.

" 'With all the streaming services and the need to generate content, you’re seeing lots of that type of space being developed,' Kawahara said. 'Victor and Hudson Pacific have really been out in front of the market.' "

[LABJ: 10/4/2019]

Mansion Global: "Highly Anticipated New Developments—Filled With Amenities Galore—Opening in Los Angeles"

As far as price points that are doing well within the luxury market, the “$2 million to $5 million range is doing pretty well, with $5 million to $10 million not doing as well,” said UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate professor and developer Paul Habibi.

“North of $10 million is still doing fairly well because there is a limited number of homes and a limited number of buyers,” he said.

International buyers have had a strong presence in the luxury market of late, Mr. Habibi said. “There has been a little bit of dearth of Chinese investment in L.A., but it hasn’t really made a dent in pricing yet.”

[MG: 9/26/2019]

GlobeSt.com: "School Sites Could Provide Ample Space for Affordable Housing"

"A new report from The UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate looks at how these sites could provide space for affordable housing development, particularly for teachers and students, demographic groups that are often the most susceptible to rent increases.

" 'We have to address the affordable housing crisis from as many directions as we possible can. I am particularly focused on looking at ways that we don’t displace anyone directly at least, and in direct displacement also,' " Dana Cuff, director at CityLAB – UCLA and the author of the paper, tells GlobeSt.com.

[GS:9/26/2019]

Wall Street Journal: "Loan Modifications for the Best— Not Distressed—Borrowers"

"Loan modifications became well known during the housing crisis when the federal government rolled out programs intended to help homeowners stave off foreclosure.

"The best known program, Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, which launched in 2009, required borrowers to be in default to qualify. HAMP fielded criticism that it didn’t help enough distressed borrowers and that it encouraged strategic default, said Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at the University of California, Los Angeles."

[WSJ: 9/26/2019]

Los Angeles Times: "Southern California home prices were flat and sales fell in August"

"Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA, said consumer concerns about the broader economy have played a role in the housing slowdown. He said cheaper financing shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum.

" 'The lower interest rates are there for a reason,' he said, referring to rates cuts the Federal Reserve has undertaken to bolster the economy.

"A UCLA Anderson Forecast, also released Wednesday, doesn’t predict a recession, but rather slowing GDP growth this year and next. Gabriel said that should be enough growth that the housing market doesn’t fall off a cliff, but also doesn’t enter a new boom period."

[LAT: 9/25/2019]