In predicting the future, Dean Zander, executive vice president with the brokerage firm CBRE, looked at previous opening waves and existing Downtown buildings. He noted that some properties offer concessions for new tenants, but not on renewals.
The retention rate for buildings a year after opening was 60%, he said, higher than in many other parts of Los Angeles. Zander said the vibrancy of Downtown, including a busy nightlife scene, is keeping many new inhabitants in the neighborhood. “What’s kind of exciting about it all is when developers try to out-amenitize each other,” Zander said. READ MORE
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“Seacrest was already achieving very competitive rents within the submarket but by articulating and clearly defining a value-add strategy, we were able to demonstrate considerable upside,” said Zander. “Various investors underwrote a renovation ranging between $25,000 and $40,000 per unit or more in order to position Seacrest as the truly best-in-class housing option for a coastal Orange County location.”
Read More... High-rise living, once a rarity in Southern California, is gaining new favor as reviving urban centers such as downtown L.A. and Hollywood attract thousands of new residents in search of neighborhoods with a big-city feel.
Los Angeles has especially encouraged dense development near transit hubs like train stations, which has led developers to build skyward to increase the number of residences they have for sale or rent. Such towers are expensive to build, so they have to be luxurious enough to attract well-heeled residents, real estate broker Dean Zander of CBRE said. Occupants may be empty-nesters, wealthy people in search of a pied a terre or working millennials with roommates. READ MORE... Downtown’s apartment market is in a peak frenzy of development, with more than 6,000 units expected to open there this year, said apartment sales broker Dean Zander of CBRE.
He expects that number to fall dramatically in 2019 and 2020 as rising construction costs and new city regulations intended to help pay for affordable housing drive up the price of apartment development. Demand for new downtown apartments has proved strong, Zander said. READ MORE... Abacus Capital buys West Covina apartment complex for $34M There's high demand for investment in the area with high barrier to entry By Gregory Cornfield In a sign of mounting demand for investment in the area, a New York-based firm bought an apartment complex in West Covina this week.
An affiliate for New York-based Abacus Capital Group, LLC, bought the Atrium Apartments at 1829 E. Workman Ave. for $33.9 million, CBRE said. It was the firm’s first purchase in Southern California. San Diego-based MG Properties Group was the seller. The 138-unit property in the San Gabriel Valley features two- and three-bedroom apartments, which each have an average of more than 1,000 square feet. The property includes three swimming pools and a fitness center. It has averaged less than 4-percent vacancy since 2016. The West Covina area has been a “submarket with extremely high barrier to entry,” said Dean Zander with CBRE, who represented MG Properties Group. Earlier this year, CBRE also represented a partnership associated with Landmark Properties in the purchase of another West Covina multi-family complex for $18.8 million. In August, StarPoint Properties sold an apartment complex in West Covina for $74 million. And in March, Goldrich & Kest Industries bought a 182-unit complex at 1234 W. Cameron Ave. for $44.8 million. A lack of supply and the strong demand have buoyed rents and kept occupancies high, according to CBRE research. Only one conventional market-rate property, with 450 units, has been built in the West Covina/Covina submarket since 1990. No new projects are planned. LOS ANGELES -- Xenon Investments, a local multifamily operator, has purchased Las Palmas Villa Apartments, located at 2039 N. Las Palmas Ave. and 2026 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood. Berk Investments sold the property for $28 million.
The 67,700-square-foot asset features a mix of studio/junior one-bedroom, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, controlled access, a swimming pool with sundeck, courtyard with fountain, parking, laundry facilities on each floor and elevator access to all levels. Unit amenities include spacious floorplans and air conditioning, with many units featuring a balcony or patio. The buyer plans to upgrade all common areas, including the building façade, and completely renovate all unit interiors with state-of-the-art amenities and conveniences. Dean Zander, Stewart Weston and John Montakab of CBRE represented the seller in the deal. Just as concepts of wellness have infiltrated travel, food and fitness, they're now reaching into residential real estate.
In a so-called wellness community, a diverse, multigenerational population of mixed-income residents are encouraged to interact in beautified and walkable public and commercial spaces. The multifamily compounds are designed to promote physical activity, interaction with nature and connection with the community beyond the property line. You might help tend a community garden or attend regularly scheduled concerts in an outdoor amphitheater. Ideas about designing for wellness are changing how residential developments are built, incorporating features more common to spa resorts or high-end gyms. "Developers are spending more time and space on rooftop gardens and common grilling areas, decks and distinct fitness areas," said Dean Zander, a CBRE executive vice president who specializes in apartments. He has noticed dedicated rooms for yoga, kickboxing, dog washing or bicycle repair popping up in new and remodeled apartments as builders aim "to bring tenants what they want, which is a healthy environment and a shared sense of community." READ MORE... From DTLA to Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles has a micro-market for every demographic, and it is a big draw for institutional investors. BY KELSI MAREE BORLAND Los Angeles is rapidly growing, but it is also evolving into a city unlike any other. While every city is segmented by neighborhoods, Los Angeles sprawl is giving way to a series of micro markets across the city that serve specific target demographics. As a result, institutional investors—a capital source that has started to target Los Angeles in recent years—is looking for opportunities in these markets. “I think that what is different, especially being a native Angeleno, is that L.A. has developed into micro markets,” Dean Zander, EVP at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com when asked how Los Angeles has evolved over the years. “Locally, there are all of these micro markets within L.A. that are getting a lot of attention and a lot of funding to grow. They are getting their own individuality.” While markets like Downtown Los Angeles, which is undergoing a dramatic renaissance, get a lot of headlines, Zander points to several L.A. markets that are growing and getting investor attention. “Downtown Los Angeles continues to grow and expand, and it is now attracting world class restaurants, hotels and retailers. At the same time, other markets are also growing,” he says. “We are seeing the Warner Center Specific plan being unveiled with thousands of units, hotels and office towers. NoHo has come into its own and has become very edgy and urban, and it is an exciting place to live. Then the Marina del Rey and Playa del Rey area have been completely redeveloped.” These markets all have their own character and unique atmosphere, but they also attract attention from specific renter demographics, like millennials and baby boomers. “The target renter demographic are attracted to these different areas for a variety of reasons, and I think that there is continued growth that we are going to enjoy,” adds Zander. These demographic groups are growing, and helping to fuel growth in these markets and extending the runway for the Los Angeles market in general. “Between the home affordability index and the millennial and senior populations growing, I think that we have a very strong runway ahead of us for continued growth,” Zander explains. “It has been a long cycle, and history tells us that we are in a cyclical business, I don’t think that we are nearing the end or late in the game.” San Diego-based Logan Capital Advisors acquired a two-property apartment portfolio for $33 million in Colton, CA from Los Angeles-based TruAmerica. The assets include Reche Ridge, a 110-unit apartment complex, and 1333 Canyon, a 104-unit apartment home property. The buildings are located at 2270 Cahuilla St. and 1333 Reche Canyon.
Berkadia’s Jim Fisher and Mike Smith, along with Dean Zander, who subsequently joined CBRE from Berkadia, represented the seller. CBRE also arranged the interest-only debt for the buyer as part of a 1031-exchange. Zander says, “The increasing demand for housing and manufacturing in this area make multifamily a wise investment. The Inland Empire has really benefitted from the influx of people and jobs driven by all the industrial and e-commerce growth, and is generally considered an affordable alternative to many other Southern California regions.” Dean Zander, CBRE’s new multifamily institutional sales expert, says that activity from institutional capital, both foreign and local, is strong in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is fast becoming a favorite market for institutional multifamily buyers. Capital from local, domestic and foreign buyers is attracted to Southern California for both direct acquisitions and local partnerships. With many experts predicting an extended runway, Dean Zander, executive VP of CBRE capital markets and an expert on multifamily institutional sales, says that the activity is poised to grow over the next year. “I think the activity is going to accelerate. There are institutional caliber assets and institutional caliber clients, and I think that the capital that is being attracted to Southern California, particularly to L.A. and the surrounding counties, is looking for a safe harbor. L.A. is viewed as a safe place for investment, particularly in the coastal regions. We are seeing a strong flow of capital coming into the Los Angeles market, predominately from local and Southern California-based buyers, and then from West Coast-based buyers, then we track throughout the country,” Zander tells GlobeSt.com. “Then, we are seeing enhanced interest from foreign buyers as well, weather that is Chinese, German, Canadian. The CB brand is perfectly suited to attract that capital.” In recent years, major developments and investments from Asian investors, mostly from China and Korea, have made headlines. While there is a lot of capital from Asia, Zander says that Germany, Canada and Latin American countries are also major players in the market. “I think it has been more Asian dominated in the press,” says Zander. “That has gotten more attention, especially with some of the specific development sites in Downtown Los Angeles, but the Canadians have actually been much more active, but maybe not as news worthy because they are so local.” This capital is chasing institutional-quality assets, but L.A. is known for its family ownership. Where there are no institutional-quality assets available, this capital is creating local partnerships. “We are absolutely seeing institutional-backed sponsors entering suburban markets with the idea of doing a deep value-add program to a B or even a C class asset,” adds Zander. “The institutions will typically find a local sponsor that has experience rolling up their sleeves and spending $25,000 to $40,000 per unit to renovate this product.” |
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