Shopoff Closes Fifth Fund With $71M

Shopoff Realty Investments has closed its fifth fund, Shopoff Land Fund V, with $71 million in commitments, exceeding its initial goal. The fund was originally sized at $60 million, but strong interest in the fund allowed for an increase to the Private Placement Memorandum Maximum allowance of $71 million. Like the preceding funds that came before, this fund will continue to focus on land acquisitions with value-add upside gained through entitlements.

“Land entitlement continues to be a successful strategy for Shopoff, based on my knowledge of the market, the lack of housing supply and increased demand continue to grow, especially in California markets,” William Shopoff, CEO of Shopoff Realty Investments, tells GlobeSt.com. “While no strategy is guaranteed to succeed, this deficit has provided us the opportunity to take commercial properties and/or land that was once used for retail, industrial and other uses, and re-entitle them for housing to better fulfill market needs.”

One reason that the firm is continuing to focus on entitlements is because the process is arduous, and one that most developers would rather avoid. Shopoff, on the other hand, understands how to navigate the process—which in California is among the most challenging. “The entitlement process can be complicated and challenging, requiring a certain level of expertise. Many firms simply do not want to take on the burden, while others are not versed enough in the process to do so,” explains Shopoff. “With more than 25 years of entitlement experience, reentitlement projects can provide us a great value-add opportunity that may also garner less competition from other buyers. As the demand for housing shows no signs of slowing, we believe this strategy will continue to be an avenue of potential opportunity for our firm.”

Shopoff is sticking with its strategy focused on land entitlements and will continue to focus in California. “The strategy and geographic focus will remain the same,” says Shopoff. “While the bulk of our properties are in California, we continue to look in markets all across the country for opportunities that align with our company strategy. Although, there is no assurance that this strategy will succeed, we will continue to use our expertise to execute on the fund’s business strategy/plan as outlined in the offering memorandum.”