LOS ANGELES—This week, the Fed raised interest rates for the second time this year, moving ahead with their plan to gradually increase rates. The decision left some wondering if the increased rates would slow activity. For now, though, acquisition and disposition activity is strong, and pricing is continuing to move up. We saw a handful of significant transactions throughout the Southwest close this week, and new development projects in the region also remain strong. Additionally, a new report showed that there new job creation also remains healthy. Here's a look at this week's trends, announcements and deals that you may have missed in Southern California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

BY THE NUMBERS

LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles is seeing significant job growth in new sectors. 70,800 jobs were added in the 12 months ending in March, and employment in  the metro increased 1.4% year-over-year, compared to the 1.6% national growth rate. Leading employment gains were the education and health services sector, which added 31,300 jobs year-over-year, an increase of 4.1%, and in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 13,100 jobs. The growth is spurring office activity. Leasing activity and lease rate growth are strong, especially in the entertainment-centric submarkets of Beverly Hills, Century City and West Hollywood. Elsewhere, Santa Monica boasts high lease rates, while 25% of all available space lies in the central business district (CBD). Development activity is robust, as roughly 9 million square feet is currently under construction. A reinvigorated CBD as well as adaptive reuse projects in the north and east submarkets are driving development activity in many different areas of Los Angeles. Transactions neared $7 billion in the 12 months ending in April, with both foreign and domestic investors active.

(SOURCE: YARDI)

DENVER— A new joint analysis found that first-time homebuyers in Denver—the least affordable market in Q1 2017 according to the ATTOM Affordability Index—can increase their down payment on a median-priced home by $13,900 (129% above just the minimum 3% down) and save nearly $5,000 in monthly house payments over the next five years by taking advantage of just one out of 89 down payment assistance programs available to home buyers in Colorado.

(SOURCE: ATTOM Data Solutions and Down Payment Resource)

NEW & NOTABLE
LOS ANGELES— Ware Malcomb has hired Kelly Capp as Director, Interior Architecture & Design in the Los Angeles office. In this role, Capp is responsible for the growth and management of the Interior Architecture & Design Studio and oversees all interiors projects for the firm's Los Angeles office. Capp brings over 15 years of award-winning design and management experience in the architectural and interior design industries to her new role at Ware Malcomb. With a deep knowledge of the design process, Capp is involved in every phase of a project from concept through completion. In addition to teaching architecture and environmental design, her background includes experience in all levels of the design and construction process on projects throughout the United States and China.

LAS VEGAS—David Jewkes has joined the Avison Young as managing director of Brokerage Operations in the Las Vegas office. Jewkes will provide overall management and leadership of Avison Young's brokerage operations in Las Vegas. He brings more than 25 years of commercial real estate management and transaction experience to Avison Young, most recently as Senior Vice-President, Nevada with Cushman & Wakefield. During his career, Jewkes has served clients in Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona. In addition to managing operations, he has developed specific expertise in business development and investor service.

PHOENIX—NAI Horizon has hired Matt Harper an Associate in the Retail Properties Group. Harper's primary areas of focus will be retail leasing and sales. He will continue working with his existing clients, representing both landlords and tenants. With its global platform, NAI gives Harper the ability to help his clients with needs both inside and outside Metro Phoenix. Harper joins NAI Horizon after three years at Phoenix West Commercial where he focused primarily on retail. He also negotiated land, office, and industrial deals. Harper previously worked at West USA Premier Properties from 2007-2010.

DEALTRACKER

PHOENIX—Desert Gardens II, a multifamily community located at 13621 W. Glendale Ave., has been sold for $23 million. Locally based ReNUE Properties purchased asset as part of its portfolio expansion within Arizona. Hahn, Trevor Koskovich and Jeff Sherman of Colliers International in Greater Phoenix negotiated the sale transaction. ReNUE Properties Arizona, Inc. purchased the multifamily project from Desert Gardens VI LLC, an Arizona limited liability company. Desert Gardens II was built in 2003 and consists of 14 two-story building on a 13.3-acre site. The property contains 225 apartment units totaling 211,812 rentable square feet. All but one of the units are two-bedroom apartments and the community was 90 percent leased at the time of the sale. In addition, the property contains 252 covered parking spaces and 171 open parking spaces.

PHOENIX—Fowler Property Acquisitions purchased the Ocotillo Springs, a 272-unit community located at 825 West Queen Creek Road in Chandler, Ariz., for $40.5 million. Cushman & Wakefield Executive Managing Directors David Fogler and Steven Nicoluzakis of the Phoenix office represented the buyer. The seller was Ocotillo Springs Associates.

CLEARFIELD, UT—Arbor Realty Trust has funded a $27.4 million FHA 221(d) (4) loan for the new construction of Clearfield Station, a Class A, 216-unit multifamily building located in Clearfield, UT. The multifamily construction project will be part of a larger 72-acre master-planned development adjacent to the Clearfield FrontRunner commuter rail station owned by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). The developer has planned a mixed-use for the property including office and residential spaces, an industrial park, a school and a park, as well as parking to support the existing rail station. The 24-month non-recourse construction loan converts to a 40-year self-amortizing permanent loan and was originated by Garth Davis, Senior Vice President, Western Regional Director, based in Arbor's San Francisco office.

RIVERSIDE, CA—Fident Capital has placed $9.5 million of permanent financing of on the multi-tenant office building known as the Spruce Street Professional Center. Fident worked with The Magnon Companies on financing the 5-story, class-A office asset consisting of 77,814 square feet and set upon 2.81 acres at 1,325 Spruce Street in Riverside, CA. This is Fident's second escrow closing on a major commercial property with Magnon in 2017. The first was the DMV in Lancaster, CA, the largest leased DMV in the state, which closed escrow in February.

LOS ANGELES—BRE Capital Markets' Debt & Structured Finance has secured $57.7 million in financing for the acquisition of a 576-unit, Class B+ apartment community in Phoenix, Arizona. Rocco Mandala, Anthony Valenzuela and Dominique Damerell of CBRE's Phoenix office secured the seven-year loan with three years of interest-only payments on behalf of the borrower, an entity formed by Security Properties and Pacific Life Insurance Company. The loan was provided by Freddie Mac at 67% LTV. Located at 15801 South 48th Street, the Class B+ garden-style apartment community was constructed in 2000. Fifty-nine percent of the units were renovated between 2012 and 2017. Unit amenities include fully-appointed kitchens with name brand appliances, 9' ceilings, full-size washer and dryer in each unit, private patios/balconies with outdoor storage, and spacious walk-in closets. Some units include built-in computer desks, vinyl plan flooring, double vanity in master bathrooms, roman tubs and attached direct-access garages.

SAN DIEGO—An office building in Central San Diego has sold to a Los Angeles-based 1031-exchange buyer for $12.5 million. The property, 9860 Mesa Rim, is 100% leased by the University of Southern California and is the San Diego headquarters for USC's Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute, which is a part of the Keck School of Medicine. CBRE's, Matt Pourcho, Gary Stache, Anthony DeLorenzo, and Mark Shaffer represented the Seattle based seller, Washington Capital Management. The buyer, a high net worth individual plans to keep the property as a long term investment. The two-story, 40,000-square-foot property was built in 2000 and is situated on 109, 336 square feet of land. Located between San Diego's two largest freeways, I-805 and I-15, which allow commuters to access San Diego County's north, south, east and central submarkets.

LOS ANGELES—Canyon Partners Real Estate has provided $32 million of preferred equity to an affiliate of Camden Securities Company to develop the NoHo L&O, a class-A mixed-use property in the North Hollywood Arts District in Los Angeles, California. Upon completion, the project will feature 297 multifamily units and a Whole Foods Market 365 located on the ground floor. The 2.04- acre site is located at the intersection of Lankershim Boulevard and Otsego Street in one of Los Angeles's fastest growing urban centers. Canyon has a broad range of experience investing in California. In the past five years, Canyon has deployed over $960 million in 42 investments across California through senior loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and equity, with over $285 million of investments in the Los Angeles metro area alone.

PHOENIX—Alta Paradise Ridge, a 278-unit, class-A multifamily community located at 18220 N. 68th St. in Scottsdale, has traded hands. Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, Asher Gunter and Matt Pesch with CBRE's Phoenix office represented the seller, Atlanta-based Wood Partners. The buyer was San Francisco-based DiNapoli Capital Partners. Located near Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road, the four-story, luxury multifamily community offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans situated on a 5.85-acre site. Individual residences feature luxurious finishes including quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, tile backsplash and undermount sinks. The property features an expansive clubhouse, pool area, 100% elevator-served buildings with air conditioned hallways and a rooftop lounge.

BUILDING BLOCKS

UPLAND, CA— Development is underway for a 56,000-square-foot, two-story ambulatory care medical office building on the San Antonio Regional Hospital campus in Upland, Calif. that will include a City of Hope community cancer center. PMB is providing program management, development and design management services for the project on behalf of San Antonio Regional Hospital. The new building is part of a larger, campus-wide project that involves construction of a new four-story patient tower, which opened in January 2017. The new Vineyard Tower has 92 private rooms, including a 12-bed critical care unit, as well as a new, 8,000-square-foot emergency department with 52 beds and three major treatment rooms.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Baldwin & Sons has announced two new phase releases in four communities in Otay Ranch by Baldwin & Sons. These new communities are located in the Village of Montecito, its popular master- planned community in San Diego County. The new homes will be released in the Signature, Lovina, Monte Villa, and Parc Place communities will offer an expansive variety of floorplans, architectural styles, and pricing. Parc Place and Lovina model homes are open for tours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Signature and Monte Villa can be viewed at the New Home Center until their model homes officially open. Signature, a single-family home community, is Heritage Building & Development's newest. Its first phase of 13 new homes is widely anticipated by a considerably sized interest list of potential buyers. Signature offers three floorplans. Residence One features four or five bedrooms and a three-car garage set within an appealing 3,344-square-foot floorplan. Residence Two includes five or six bedrooms and a three-car garage set within 3,491 square feet. Residence Three includes four to six bedrooms and a two-car garage in a 3,605-square- foot layout. All homes within Signature offer between three and five bathrooms. Prices for Signature homes start at the low $700,000s.

BY THE NUMBERS

LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles is seeing significant job growth in new sectors. 70,800 jobs were added in the 12 months ending in March, and employment in the metro increased 1.4% year-over-year, compared to the 1.6% national growth rate. Leading employment gains were the education and health services sector, which added 31,300 jobs year-over-year, an increase of 4.1%, and in the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 13,100 jobs. The growth is spurring office activity. Leasing activity and lease rate growth are strong, especially in the entertainment-centric submarkets of Beverly Hills, Century City and West Hollywood. Elsewhere, Santa Monica boasts high lease rates, while 25% of all available space lies in the central business district (CBD). Development activity is robust, as roughly 9 million square feet is currently under construction. A reinvigorated CBD as well as adaptive reuse projects in the north and east submarkets are driving development activity in many different areas of Los Angeles. Transactions neared $7 billion in the 12 months ending in April, with both foreign and domestic investors active.

(SOURCE: YARDI)

(SOURCE: ATTOM Data Solutions and Down Payment Resource)

DEALTRACKER

BUILDING BLOCKS

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