Revenue from Measure ULA Passes $1 Billion Milestone

Los Angeles’ Measure ULA transfer tax has crossed a significant revenue threshold.

Nearly three years after being implemented, proceeds from so-called “mansion tax” have exceeded $1 billion, Commercial Observer reported. Under the ordinance, transactions for properties between $5.3 million and $10.6 million incur an additional 4 percent tax, and deals for $10.6 million or more trigger a 5.5 percent tax. City officials have long said that money earned from the transfer tax will go toward funding affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs.

As of Jan. 8, Measure ULA has generated more than $1 billion from 1,435 transactions, according to Los Angeles Housing Department data cited by CO. Of those deals, 60 percent were for single-family residences, 24 percent were for nonresidential commercial properties and 13 percent were for multifamily sales. The ZIP codes of 90049, 90272 and 90077, encompassing top-tier Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Brentwood, Bel Air and Pacific Palisades, accounted for the largest share of sales producing ULA funds.

The amount of money coming in from ULA, implemented April 1, 2023, is growing with each fiscal year. Over the past six months, the ordinance collected $306.7 million, meaning it will likely surpass the previous year’s $413.2 million before the end of the fiscal year in June. The resulting cash on hand has led to the largest notice of funding availability, or NOFA, in Los Angeles Housing Department history.

Nearly 74 percent of ULA funds in fiscal year 2025-26 are allocated for affordable housing programs, such as multifamily development, preserving property affordability and a homeownership opportunities initiative prioritizing first-time buyers and local land trusts. The rest of the money is set aside for homelessness prevention programs, including short-term emergency assistance, eviction defense, and income support for seniors and persons with disabilities.

Commercial real estate executives have been outspoken in their opposition to ULA, with some choosing to invest outside of Los Angeles city limits entirely. Universe Holdings decided to pause or cancel transactions in L.A. due to the tax, selling several properties in early 2023 before ULA went into effect, and the company hadn’t bought or sold any as of last spring, according to CO.

“Buyers and sellers are absolutely disgruntled over ULA, and it is not going away. It’s actually getting worse every day,” Aaron Kirman, CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California, said at The Real Deal’s Building Back L.A. panel in September. “When you are doing these deals and sellers can be charged anywhere between 4.5 and 5 percent additional fees on top of commissions and closing costs and everything else, it’s make it or break it for a lot of these developers, not only on the luxury level, but for apartments, for retail, and everything in the middle.”

— Chris Malone Méndez