UCLA Real Estate Wire

Bisnow: "Corruption Case Sweeps Up Major West Coast CRE Players"

"But the effectiveness of reforms aimed at increasing transparency and public trust after this might not deter someone looking to do what Huizar allegedly did, said Eric Sussman, an adjunct professor in real estate at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management at the Ziman Center for Real Estate.

'If someone wants to be corrupt, they probably know very well they are breaking the law and are just going to behave in that way, thinking that they can get away with it or that they are somehow different,' Sussman said."

[Bisnow: 1/7/2021]

Los Angeles Times: "The housing market is red hot. How long can it last?"

"But don’t expect houses in places such as the Westside and central L.A. to become cheap, said Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA who forecasts rising prices for close-in areas of Southern California as well.

'The demand for those areas so far outstrips supply. It’s hard to imagine, even in the context of shifting preferences that benefit outlying areas, that [close-in locations] would not continue to be highly desirable,' he said."

[LAT: 12/22/2020]

LeadingAge CA Engage Magazine: "Beyond IWISH – Applying A Systems Change Approach To Integrating Care At Home"

"One of the core principles of the Housing Recommendations in the Master Plan for Aging acknowledges that housing is an integral part of California’s continuum of care. Without housing, it becomes exceedingly difficult to provide older adults and people with disabilities the care and services they need to live independently. Low-and middle-income older adults have a particularly hard time accessing long-term supports and services in California."

“Authors: Christina Green is Program Manager of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate’s Housing as Health Care Initiative. Nancy Rockett Eldridge is CEO of the National Well Home Network. Meghan Rose is the General Counsel and Director of Housing Policy for LeadingAge California. Ayako Utsumi, MPH is founder of Valon Consulting focusing on the intersection of health, the built environment and affordable housing.”

[LeadingAge CA: 11/19/2020]

UCLA News Room: "UCLA model ID’s areas that should have priority for vaccine, other COVID-19 help"

"The research data demonstrate that neighborhoods characterized by significant clustering of racial and ethnic minorities, low-income households and unmet medical needs are most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, specifically areas in and around South Los Angeles and the eastern portion of the San Fernando Valley. Communities along the coast and in the northwestern part of the county, which are disproportionately white and higher-income, were found to be the least vulnerable.

'The model we have includes specific resource vulnerabilities that can guide public health officials and local leaders across the nation to harness already available local data to determine which groups in which neighborhoods are most vulnerable and how to prevent new infections to save lives,' said research author Vickie Mays, a professor of psychology in the UCLA College and of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health."

[UCLA News Room: 11/18/2020]

The Real Deal: "'Sad day' in LA: CBRE’s corporate exit latest blow to dented office market"

"Besides the taxes, there’s California housing. 'There’s a much higher cost of housing for employees here,' said Eric Sussman, an adjunct professor of accounting at UCLA. 'You can retain talent at lower wages in Dallas.'

California could reach a point, Sussman said, where further corporate taxes could mean a 'net loss of state revenue' due to the exodus."

[TRD: 10/30/2020]

Bisnow: "In Gig-Dependent LA, Rent Payments Begin To Skid As Payday Loans Spike"

"Though RealPage’s data doesn’t indicate that Los Angeles renters are particularly hard-hit by the pandemic compared to renters in other cities, a report published by UCLA’s Lewis Center for
Regional Policy Studies suggests an additional layer to the story: that perhaps LA renters are going to unsustainable lengths to make their rent payments on time.

'Paying on time and in full, in other words, should not be mistaken for ‘having no problems’ paying rent,' the report said.

The report COVID-19 and Renter Distress used data from two sources: the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which the bureau undertook specifically to gather data on how American households have been affected by the pandemic. It includes questions about late rent payment and a more detailed survey of 1,000 LA County households conducted by a third party for UCLA.
The report was co-authored by USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Director Richard Green and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs associate professors Michael Lens, Michael Manville and Paavo Monkkonen."

[Bisnow: 10/18/2020]

Mansion Global: "California Wildfires Are Driving up Fire Insurance Premiums—and Home Prices"

“'It’s going to have a material and profound impact on our state, and on virtually every property type,' said Eric Sussman, professor at the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. 'People think that if they don’t live in at-risk areas, they’re not going to be affected, but that’s wrong. Insurance works from all of us collectively sharing risks.'”

[MG: 10/13/2020]

KCRW: "SoCal home prices are breaking records while apartment rents are dropping during pandemic"

"When the pandemic hit in March, and the economy started to tank, but the housing market so far hasn’t crashed. In August, the median home price in the region reached a record-breaking $600,000, which is up 12% compared to the same time last year. It’s a seller’s market for single family homes.

"But it’s turning into a renter’s market for apartments. Rent prices are falling in Los Angeles. The median price for a one-bedroom last month was around $2,000 a month, which is down 11% from last year.

"How are both of these things happening at the same time? And what about commercial real estate, with a large number of folks no longer needing office space at the moment?"

Guest: Eric Sussman - Professor in accounting and real estate, UCLA’s Anderson School of Management
Host: Steve Chiotakis
Producers: Christian Bordal, Jenna Kagel

[KCRW: 10/06/2020]

Los Angeles Magazine: "Rent Prices Are Falling in Some of the City’s Swankiest Buildings"

“'This doesn’t mean DTLA is going to die as a viable economic unit,' says Stuart Gabriel, professor of finance at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate. 'Ultimately, this was happening anyway because it has simply become too expensive.'

Experts say the pandemic is less the cause of the decline in luxury rents and more an accelerant of forces in motion in L.A.’s economy.

'Pre-COVID, we were already starting to see the exit of both jobs and employees with those jobs, often in tech, from the most expensive markets to secondary tech hubs,' says Gabriel. 'People from Los Angeles were already moving to high-amenity, high-millennial-friendly cities like Portland, Austin, and Boulder. The difference is that now that no one is asking you to come into the office, destinations are much more dispersed. Pick your place.'”

[LAMag: 9/21/2020]

Los Angeles Business Journal: "LA Office Market Takes a Hit"

“'The reason why it hasn’t been hit as hard is long leases,” UCLA Anderson economist David Shulman said. “And firms are still making money even though people are not in the office.'

But the market did see a negative 755,000 square feet of net absorption."

[LABJ: 8/3/2020]