The NY Times has an interesting piece today on middle class people leaving increasing expensive coastal cities (SF, NY, etc.) and going to more affordable cities in the interior of the country. The underlying dynamic is pretty straight-forward: Without the liar’s loans that were available in 2005-6, there’s no way for middle class people with stagnant wages … Continue reading “City growth, affordability and the decline of the middle class”
Author: Moses Kagan
Airbnb and the Ellis Act
There’s a big fight brewing up in SF over landlord’s use of the Ellis Act to get into the short-term rental business. What’s the Ellis Act? Well, in CA, the law is that no one can force a landlord to remain in the rental property business. So, the Ellis Act creates a procedure whereby a … Continue reading “Airbnb and the Ellis Act”
Adaptive Realty, Inc. update
During July 2014, we closed four deals totaling a hair over $3.3MM in gross transaction value. Over the 12 months to July 2014, we did 19 deals totaling $15.7MM (not counting off-market deals and stuff we didn’t broker). For the entire life of Adaptive Realty, Inc., going back to 2011, we’re at $35.2MM. Note that the … Continue reading “Adaptive Realty, Inc. update”
Uber and real estate
Want to spend some more time today on an idea I mentioned briefly in yesterday’s post: That Uber (or something like) has the potential to radically reshape our city. To understand where I’m coming from, you need to take the following two pieces of information as given: Google or some other company will release a … Continue reading “Uber and real estate”
Grandfathered zoning
Got to thinking over the weekend about plumbing and electric. (Bored already? Sorry.) As you probably know, we almost always replace both systems when we renovate a building. Often, the last time the systems were replaced was sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. I was idly considering whether anyone would ever have to replace these … Continue reading “Grandfathered zoning”
What people want
Have been spending a lot of time looking at both apartment and single family home listings. In general, am absolutely appalled at both the properties on offer and the way in which they are marketed. Here is what people want: Clean, straight lines Open spaces Minimal detailing Many / large windows White walls Real materials … Continue reading “What people want”
A reminder
Sometimes I get wrapped up in thinking about buildings as financial abstractions. I think about the cost of buying and renovating them, the rents we can achieve, the likely operating costs, the expected yield, the value on exit, the transaction costs and the profit. I have the luxury of doing this because our very able … Continue reading “A reminder”
How to get the best out of your buy-side agent
Be responsive. What do I mean? Well, at any time, my agents are working with a handful of active buyers, plus some more “passive” types who have expressed interest in doing something but aren’t motivated. So, how do the agents decide whom to focus on? Simple: The more responsive and engaged buyers get the lion’s … Continue reading “How to get the best out of your buy-side agent”
The deal size problem
Here’s something true about real estate: It is much easier to find highly profitable small deals than highly profitable large deals. Why is this true? Well, the smaller the deal, the more likely it is that the owner and /or listing broker are inexperienced / inept. Those kinds of decision-makers frequent screw up the management … Continue reading “The deal size problem”
The brokerage is beginning to hit its stride
One of the things I wrestle with is how much time to devote to our brokerage operation. As many of you know, I supervise six agents who help investors buy and sell investment property in gentrifying parts of LA. Compared to our fund management business and our fee-for-service development business, the brokerage is tiny. To … Continue reading “The brokerage is beginning to hit its stride”