Real Estate Symposium Set at UCLA

By Dennis Kaiser

Los Angeles-based Arixa Capital Advisors’ Jan Brzeski will be speaking at the 12th Annual Real Estate Symposium at UCLA’s Schoenberg Music Hall on May 2^nd. Other panelists include FivePoint Communities’ Emile Haddad, Canyon Partners’ Maria Stamolis, PCCP’s William Lindsay, DoubleLine’s Morris Chen, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Jesse Sharf.

The event registration page is located here:(use discount code CONNECT to receive 20% off the registration price).

In advance of the event, Connect Media asked Brzeski to share a few insights about the investment market in Los Angeles in our latest 3 CRE Q&A.

Q: Why do you think there is a place for smaller projects in Los Angeles today?
A: Demand from end users for smaller residential projects: While there are a lot of cranes around Los Angeles currently, there still appears to be very strong demand for smaller projects located close to the best jobs. Most of LA is one and two-story housing, and we believe the future will be more three-story housing with higher density. Small lot subdivisions and smaller newly-renovated or new construction apartments are both selling or leasing up fairly quickly, especially if the price point is achievable for a larger number of people.

To meet the need for more affordable housing, we think one major trend will be smaller units including co-living arrangements, where certain spaces are shared by a number of residents. We need more of all types of housing to accommodate our growing economy, and the best jobs tend to be located in places with an extremely limited supply of housing. All of this creates a favorable environment for skilled developers who can get smaller projects done.

Q: California has a severe housing problem, yet legislation (Senate Bill 827) that would have overridden local zoning laws to allow denser housing projects near transit lines was recently defeated in Sacramento. What can be done to address the issue?
A: The fact that this bill emerged at all is a testament to the severity of our housing shortage and lack of affordability. However, it is hard for me to see state legislators voting to allow high density, large projects in their constituents’ neighborhoods. We did see a state law pass ensuring that accessory dwelling units can be built anywhere, without regard to cities’ efforts to curtail this. However, I think high-density housing will always cause a lot of voter opposition. But, anything could happen when housing costs are out of control. Probably, the more likely phenomenon is an increase in rent control, which unfortunately will hold back new housing investment and supply.

Q: What are some of the ways investors of all shapes and sizes can participate in the CRE investment market?
A: Many of us got into real estate because we love “the built environment,” and want to become real estate investors. I like to ask professionals I meet whether in addition to their main job in our industry, do they ever make investments on their own? It is frequently these smaller projects that we end up financing, because we have embraced the lower middle market as a large segment that has been underserved by professional bridge and construction lenders. This is also one reason we like putting on events to stimulate connections. We hope that if professionals and investors make a useful connection at an event that we help organize, they will remember us when it comes time to find the debt financing.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser