HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
LOS ANGELES SPOTLIGHT
or make some downward decisions in housing.”
lots with higher-density housing. The home, located less than a mile from the famous Hollywood Chinese Theatre, was approved for small lot subdivision development by the city planning department, but then the planning department backtracked, according to Bartlett. Bartlett said he had to “get creative” and worked with the owner of the single family home next door to sell the two homes together as a package deal to another developer willing to take on the project. “Two single story single family homes that are going to be turned into four two-story homes with underground parking,” he said, noting the planned development is being called the Fountain Four. We probably made as much or more than if we had developed the property ourselves.”
According to a brochure provided by the site’s developer, Jonathan Dilworth with c&d partners, the four new homes will each consist of three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and more than 3,300 square feet of floor space. One of the two current single family homes is 902 square feet with two bedrooms and 1 bathroom, and the other is 1,490 square feet with two bedrooms and 1 bathroom, according to public record data. “Specifically within the city of Los Angeles, they are pro this type of development, but in the areas where they want it,” Bartlett added. “They want to do it in a controlled fashion.” Another “densification” option for developers and investors in Los Angeles is finding older, smaller homes and
The choice for local policymakers, according to Thornberg, is fairly straightforward: either continue to artificially restrict supply as has been done in the Bay Area, resulting in the “country club effect” where lower-income folks are pushed out; or to allow for expanded supply and ease upward pressure on home prices. “They can work to expand supply or they can live in La La Land and … immediately assume it’s a bad capitalist out there screwing everything up,” he said. “It’s easier to be a liberal in San Francisco. All the poor people moved away.” Newton, the note buyer, said small lot subdivision developments would help ease supply, but those developments often face regulatory hurdles that restrict financing. “Small lot subdivisions where you can take a lot and build four houses or five houses … they are beautiful projects, but going back to affordability the prices on them are really inflating,” he said. “I have been hearing about a lot of areas that have been putting up moratoriums on building … guys have bought all these properties and they are stuck for years.” City Pro-Development, Sometimes Bartlett – the high-end flipper – said he almost got stuck with a single family home that he had purchased with the intent to subdivide into smaller
2016 LA Home Flips by Zip Heap Map
0%
37.8%
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ATTOM Data Solutions • P20
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