I feel like this photo perfectly sums up Los Angeles today: A $2.7 Billion LA Convention Center expansion underway that nobody wanted or needed….with the backdrop of three vacant skyscrapers tagged full of graffiti over 2 years ago.

For anyone who received a slot to buy LA 2028 Olympics Tickets, this is where I was seeing ticket pricing/availability for a few various events just now: Swimming (Mixed Final): Starting at $1,860 Track (Relays Final): Starting at $1,116 Swimming (Mixed Prelim): Starting at $806 Tennis (Prelim): Starting at $520 Fencing (Quarterfinal): Starting at $303 Beach Volleyball (Prelim): Starting at $297 Water Polo (Prelim): Starting at $248 Diving: Unavailable Gymnastics: Unavailable Rhythmic Gymnastics: Unavailable

In theory I support this tunnel through the Santa Monica Mountains which would connect the Westside to Sherman Oaks in 20 minutes. At a $13B price tag, I just hope Metro invests in making it a safe. Took the Expo Line last month - def did not feel safe.

Interesting phenomenon to see in LA nowadays on any given Saturday night: Sunset Blvd around the Mondrian in WeHo: Dead Sunset Blvd around Sunset Junction in Silver Lake: Poppin' The Strip has moved to the East Side it seems.

My grandfather came to the US with the shirt on his back knowing zero English. Worked a couple of odd jobs to support his family and make ends meet. Landed at a liquor store in South LA where my father worked day and night. Saved up enough money to buy the business. Ultimately saved up enough to buy the whole block - still in the family. The Liquor store still bears his name today…John.

"I appreciate you thinking of me, but because this type of property is outside of my expertise, I do not feel that your interests would be best served if I were the one to list it for you..." …said no residential real estate agent ever.

Highland Park's restaurant scene is one of the deepest in LA right now imo. - Hippo - Highly Likely - Skaf's on York - Joy - Queen Street - Wildcrust - Belle's Delicatessen - Amiga Amore - Fondry - Sam's Place - Mala Class - Sticky Rice - Ggiata Delicatessen - Jeff's Table

Tale of 2 LA-area shopping malls I visited over the weekend. Beverly Center: A-Location, mid-to-high tier shops and restaurants....absolute ghost town, borderline depressing. Northridge Fashion Center: B-Location, low-to-mid tier shops and restaurants...absolutely slammed. Couldn't even find parking.

Drove by the George Lucas museum this morning in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. A truly incredible & futuristic structure you have to see to believe. Star Wars fan or not, this museum should attract millions of visitors in the coming years.

For anyone following scorched lots trading in the Palisades. Had a colleague whose house burned down in the Alphabet streets ask me what I thought his lot may be worth. Zero clue, but did some digging: - 3 flat lots traded in the past 60 days - Around $350 per SF (Land) - Around $800 per Buildable SF (accounting for 10% above the existing footprint)

Pretty wild to think that 1 year later, DTLA still has 3 skyscrapers full of graffiti.

The Great Wealth Transfer is upon us. Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z are expected to inherit $70 Trillion from Baby Boomers. I'm seeing this first hand in the LA multifamily market. 8 of the last 10 BOVs were for 'children' aged 40-60s who recently inherited properties from their parents, received a step up and are seeking to exit their investments. Whether or not they are willing to meet the market...entirely different story.

Quick Numbers Update on Prop 33 - aka California's Justice for Renters Act: $15.7 Million has been raised in support led by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's $13.3 Million contribution. $33.9 Million has been raised in opposition led by the California Association of Realtors' $22 Million contribution. A recent poll earlier this year indicated that 39% were in support of Prop 33, while 41% indicated that they opposed the act. 20% were undecided. Would not be surprised one bit if Prop 33 passed in November.

I had the opportunity to tour Beaudry over the weekend, Brookfield’s 785-unit Downtown LA masterpiece. Truly a stunning apartment building. Endless amenities - 24/7 valet, roof sky lounge, golf simulator etc. Crazy to think that Brookfield is in default on half of their DTLA office portfolio, but Beaudry apparently is leasing apartments pretty quickly.

Something I see in the LA market regularly - the Father/Son family investment duo. Son does all the work identifying deals, negotiating terms, throwing out phrases like "all cash" and "quick close" etc. Father shows up and completely blows up the deal.

I only had two interactions with the Seller of my first listing prior to her engaging - one phone call and one in-person meeting. But leading up to that point, I probably left her about 25 voicemails. She never answered the phone...not once. Then one day, she calls me back and says: "It's funny. I feel like I have known you for years just from listening to your voicemails." Some people delete voicemails. And as I learned that day, others actually listen to them. Since then I have always made it a point to leave voicemails.

I was recently surveying the LA office space market to see what was out there. So I hit up my friend who is the listing broker on a Class-A highrise in Downtown LA. 30 seconds into the conversation, he says “Don’t come to Downtown.” He told me that the amenity package in Downtown LA has all but deteriorated to the point where Jimmy Johns (who is not widely known on the West Coast) has one of their most successful locations Downtown - simply because there are no other decent places to get a sandwich for those that work in the area. Mind you that this was the listing broker who was telling me this. As an LA native, I root for a thriving Downtown. But man what a demise.

Investor #1's Acquisition Criteria - 1960s Vintage or Newer - 10 Units - Prefer 2 and 3 Bedroom floor plans - Located in these 5 specific zip codes - At least x% Cap Rate going-in - 35% upside in rents - ADU potential great but not a must Investor #2's Acquisition Criteria - "Anything that makes sense" Being able to clearly articulate your acquisition criteria is highly underrated. Investor #1 will have far more opportunities presented to him/her than Investor #2.

There is a prominent LA apartment owner who owns 1,500 units with another 500 under development. His buildings are in utter disrepair & borderline uninhabitable. 20 deaths have occurred at just one of his properties, and he filed over 70 evictions in a 2 year span. Yet this is the same guy behind virtually every piece of California pro-tenant legislation in recent memory, including the Justice for Renters Act coming in November of this year. So strange.

Property managers are generally not incentivized to cooperate during a sale process when one of their fee-managed properties is being sold, particularly for their clients who only own 1 property. Many times, they end up losing the account to the Buyer's existing manager or in-house management team once the sale is consummated. As such, I find that they can be slow to respond with access, providing Books & Records, answering questions etc. I did however recently work a transaction where the existing manager was incredible through the sale process for one of his fee-managed properties. Knowing there was a good chance he would lose the account, he still responded immediately to calls/emails, showed up personally & even early for tours to make sure the property looked good, and demonstrated an expertise for the building and market. His professionalism did not go unnoticed. The Buyer not only retained the manager for this building, but also engaged him for 7 additional properties.