Watching the drama unfold this past
week helped me to confirm my suspicion that Los Angeles or “LA” is important to
the world. The public ceremony celebrating the life of Dr. Jerry Buss made me
think of our fair city and what it means to so many. Dignitaries and business
people came from all over the world to pay tribute to this amazing man. Some might
call him simple, but there was nothing simple about Jerry Buss. But when you
live right, and treat everyone with respect, it can seem that you are simple.
I had a good friend named Dr. Stan
Walch. He was a buddy with Dr. Buss back in their school days. He tells a story
of Dr. Buss as the smartest man he ever knew: “We played monopoly for real
money and Dr. Buss always won! We played without tokens and without the titles.
We played from memory and Dr. Buss had the best memory." I am sure Dr.
Walch and Dr. Buss are playing Monopoly together again.
Then I watched the Oscar’s telecast
and thought it was one of the best I've seen in my life. I liked the Captain
Kirk bit a lot. During each break they played music from classic movies,
conjuring up memories of the past with the music references. I loved Barbara
Streisand. My only complaint was for the Jaws theme which played when speakers went
overtime. Most of the show was classy. Congratulations to Argo for Best Picture
and all of the other winners.
We are a city under siege. Money is
pouring in from many different states and countries. Buyers from all over the
world have descended on Los Angeles to purchase real estate. This starts in
housing and gradually moves on to investment and commercial development
properties.
If you look outside, the weather
tells a great story. If you need more reasons, let’s discuss the notoriety of
being in Los Angeles. We are Hollywood, the capitol of people’s dreams. Every
young person growing up wants to live a life of Entourage, fast, fun, sexy etc. And they believe it can be found
here in Los Angeles. They are not so wrong, but it comes at a price.
You need money to live in Los
Angeles, the playground of the universe.
Now New York, Amsterdam, Rio and other amazing places will argue that they are
the center of the cultural universe of fun and excitement. They are right and
so are we. We are the creators of Reality TV; a Pink’s chili dog can be on equal
footing to a night at Spago; and living in Silverlake can be more prestigious
than living in Beverly Hills. The artist sub-culture in Los Angeles is the envy
of the world. The free LA Weekly newspaper is more popular than the Los Angeles
Times.
How exciting to own real estate in
Los Angeles. Growth and development is at an all time high. Demand for new
shops and creative space is booming. There is a shortage of quality
distribution space. So what does all of this mean? Where are the opportunities?
Is it time to sell or buy?
If you read my previous posts, you
know I always say that you should never sell real estate in Los Angeles. But
for some, they need to sell. There is
death, divorce, retirement, relocation and the inability to manage the property
correctly. These factors create opportunities for someone else to buy in. If
there is an offer that is too good to be true, and you can move the money into
an exchange, then selling makes sense.
So I say: be a buyer. I would look
into any single-story properties on major streets and thoroughfares. Check out
the San Fernando Valley for all types of properties. I would be looking into
distressed real estate in South Los Angeles as the demographics are changing and
the need for basic services is growing too.
Current low interest rates allow
everyone to participate in this real estate boom. The time is now for people to
pool resources and get in the game. The inflation that will surely follow tomorrow
will more than make up for what you pay today.
We just had a primary nominating
election for mayor and many other offices. The two top mayoral candidates, Eric
Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, will have a run-off election on May 21st. What I
find sad is that only 16% of eligible voters actually voted, one of the lowest
turnouts in memory. The apathy the population has for government tells a story
of future distress. The city’s government is in an economic crisis and the city
may be in a citizen crisis as well. Most citizens are living paycheck to
paycheck or are on some form of government assistance. Of course, there are the
wealthy that are in good shape, but they have to survive within a system of
government too. The population is becoming more divided. This is not good and is
outright scary.
Maybe that’s a real reason to sell?
I don't mind paying more taxes if it
goes to support general services and helps people to get back on their feet. We
are all in this together and need to sacrifice to make our home a better place.
Real problems in our city, state and country will need real leadership and
solutions if we are to thrive. We are a diverse city with a need to come
together in many different ways to move forward and grow.
Meanwhile, I am still a buyer in
this market.
