LA is fading as a destination for real estate investors from abroad.
Once a prime choice for international buyers, LA has been declining for six years. It attracts less than 5% of international buyers, compared to over 10% for Miami.
Hooray! you might say. Less competition for local buyers!
But prices in the broad LA metro area are still going up, even if prices in LA County have declined slightly.
It’s hard to spin a lack of interest among buyers as good news.
Not that some won’t try.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria claimed last week that his city was improving housing because it “is no longer a top 10 most expensive rental market.”
There might be other reasons — like beaches polluted with sewage from Mexico, a budget crisis at city hall, and new proposed real estate taxes.
Likewise with LA. It’s not a good thing that the world is taking less interest in LA property.
Especially when the 2028 Olympics are on their way — which should spur interest among investors.
The fact is that investors overseas are reading the news.
They saw the wildfires on television. They read reports about homelessness, and open-air drug use.
They know Measure ULA will slap a tax on sellers of high-end properties — and that the City Council has failed to get rid of it.
International investors are losing interest in LA real estate for the same reason tens of thousands of residents are leaving.
The city no longer works for hard-working people. And it doesn’t provide services, or security, in return for high state and local taxes.
Miami has rocketed into the lead because it offers low taxes and a business-friendly environment.
It has the culture of a big city. It has safe, clean streets. And Florida has learned how to manage natural disasters.
LA should be tops — we have better weather, for one thing.
But we are failing at the basics of governance.
Lack of international real estate interest is yet another red flag.
It doesn’t just mean that big spenders aren’t buying big houses.
It means our economy as a whole is viewed as an unsafe bet.
If we don’t turn things around, not even the Olympics will save us.
We have a choice in this election. We can save our city, and our state.
Or we can accept the status quo, and watch the city we love continue to decline.
