Los Angeles Times7 hours agoA sign of the times: Tearing down an emptying O.C. office complex to build a warehouseverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - Roger VincentIn the hierarchy of commercial real estate, office space has long been king. Developers and landlords lived by the conventional wisdom that there was no better use for your square footage than business offices because they commanded higher rents than industrial spaces. Simple math, the thinking …
Los Angeles Times3 days agoCalifornia's home insurer of last resort sees enrollment surge, raising concerns over its financesverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - Ruben VivesWith home insurers scaling back coverage in the state, enrollment is surging in California’s backstop insurance plan — as is the plan’s risk of sustaining losses that it can’t cover. Victoria Roach, president of the FAIR Plan Assn., told lawmakers this week that property owners even in areas with …
Los Angeles Times3 days agoRealtors agree to change commission rules in a deal that could reduce costs for consumersverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - Andrew KhouriThe National Assn. of Realtors on Friday said it will make changes to its commission rules to settle national allegations the requirements stifled competition, a move that may reduce costs for at least some consumers. The settlement, which still must receive court approval, could mark a major change …
Los Angeles Times3 days agoInvestors bought a historic Echo Park home. Sisters who have lived there since childhood are fighting to stayverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - Paloma EsquivelLupe Breard remembers coming to live in the Queen Anne Victorian house in Echo Park with her mother and siblings when she was a child. The memory is still vivid decades later, she says, because she didn’t want to move there — until she saw the chimney and told herself Santa Claus could bring …
Los Angeles TimesIn Kern County, an abandoned church gets a second life as housing for former foster youthsverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - Melissa GomezOILDALE, Calif. — The church on Oildale Drive and Minner Avenue has stood on the corner since 1954, built after an earthquake damaged the Oildale Church of Christ’s building. Since then, the church has passed through a variety of denominations and congregations until it was abandoned in 2021. But the …
Los Angeles TimesOpinion: Inflation isn’t the real problem for the U.S. economy. The housing shortage isverified_publisherLos Angeles Times - By Ben HarrisRecently released government data hammered home what we have known for at least a year: A national housing shortage, not broad-based price increases, is driving inflation. Inflation over the past year was 3.1% — far less than in 2021 but still high enough for the Federal Reserve to keep interest …