UCLA Real Estate Wire

LA Times: "Southland Housing Market Mellows As Sales Fall, Price Growth Slows"

"The Southern California housing market took a step back last month, as home sales fell and price gains slowed. But homeowners shouldn't despair and would-be buyers might even rejoice, analysts say.The economy is improving and mortgage rates aren't likely to soar, factors that will produce enough demand to make price declines extremely unlikely, said Stuart Gabriel, director of UCLA's Ziman Center for Real Estate. Gabriel said he expects prices to appreciate 4% to 6% next year..."

[LA Times 11/12/14]

Congresswoman Karen Bass Addresses Los Angeles' Affordable Housing Crisis at UCLA Levine Summit

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.), U.S. Representative of the 37th Congressional District of California, served as the keynote speaker for the inaugural UCLA Levine Summit on Affordable Housing. As recent headlines suggest, and many southern Californians know firsthand, homeownership is in decline, rents continue to rise and the median income doesn’t afford people the ability to live in Los Angeles. Congresswoman Bass addressed these issues and discussed programs for home ownership and renters.

An expert panel discussion followed the Congresswoman’s address, which was led by Lance Bocarsley, UCLA Law adjunct professor of affordable housing transactional law and a transactional attorney who specializes in bond funding and tax credits for housing. Panelists represented a range of industries and included Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell of Los Angeles, 13th District; Bill Witte, chairman and CEO of Related California; Ann Sewill, vice president of housing and economic development at California Community Foundation; and Joan Ling, lecturer in urban planning at UCLA.

The discussion covered topics including leveraging the strength of the market to produce more mixed income housing, the necessity for minimum wage increases to help ensure renters have enough money to rent affordable housing, policy changes at the federal level and additional tools, tax credits and tax exempt bonds to support growth. For more on Los Angeles’ housing crisis, read the Ziman Center’s UCLA Economic Letters: (July 2014) A Rent Crisis with Deep Roots: Why L.A. is the Most Unaffordable Market in the U.S. and (September 2014) Density Without Dingbats: L.A.'s Housing Crisis Solutions Are Right In Its Own Backyards. Download the report (pdf) from the 2014 UCLA Levine Summit: Toward Building an Affordable Housing Agenda.

The Howard and Irene Levine Program in Housing and Social Responsibility and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate hosted the event. The Levine Program addresses timely and critical issues related to urban housing markets, as well as housing policy and sustainability, particularly the housing needs and outcomes of low-income and workforce households.

LA Times Editorial: "Amnesty For Bootlegged Apartments"

"A recent study by UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs found that renters in the Los Angeles area
had a median “rent burden” — the percentage of their income going to rent — of 47%. That is the
highest in the nation. Legalizing a few heretofore bootlegged units may ease that burden, but only
thoughtful incentives and sustained attention can infuse this area with the affordable housing it so
badly lacks..."

[LA Times Editorial 8/24/14]

The Economist: "Housing In Los Angeles"

"A new study by the University of California, Los Angeles concludes that LA has the least affordable rental homes in America, and other reports rate California as the worst state both for renters and mortgage-payers (see map). The UCLA study reports that tenants in LA spend on average 47% of their gross income on rent—a higher share than in any other city. (Academics typically deem rent “unaffordable” if it eats up more than 30% of a household’s income)..."

[The Economist 8/23/14]

BBC Capital: "Get Your Dream Home: How To Win The Property Battle"

"Global equity markets have been at all-time highs. That means more people have money to buy homes. At the same time, housing demand has recovered faster than the supply of homes for sale. Why? A big driver of home sales has long been people relocating for new jobs. But, with unemployment still high in many countries, people aren’t changing jobs at the same clip as they normally would..."

“That means the only supply that will really make a dent will be new construction and that takes time,” said Eric Sussman, professor at UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. “In Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Paulo, in really dense cities, there’s nowhere to build.”

[BBC Capital 4/24/14]