The State of the Los Angeles Mayoral Race

If you missed the Los Angeles State of the City, don’t worry.

That’s because a firm grip on where the mayor stands on proposed reforms for Measure United to House L.A. — one of real estate’s biggest headaches — wasn’t part of the keynote.

The silence was deafening considering the shouting match that ensued in the week prior to Feb. 2’s address, held at the Expo Center.

That was the week when prominent Progressive councilmember Nithya Raman sought her colleagues’ approval to create a 15-year exemption from ULA for new construction multifamily, mixed-use and commercial projects, along with a one-time carveout for properties impacted by a natural disaster. Some council members, along with the Measure ULA Citizens Oversight Committee, were miffed at the attempted fast-track to get the proposal on June’s ballot. It’s now sitting with the city’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.

In short, whether there’s relief for residential and commercial real estate from the 4 percent tax on properties selling for $5.3 million or more (or 5.5 percent for those priced at $10.6 million and up), remains a question mark.

On Downtown

Two different realities — both extremes — are playing out for Downtown Los Angeles, depending on who you ask.

Bass is on a roll touting proof points Downtown is being revitalized.

“Businesses are relocating, expanding their headquarters here,” she said during her State of the City address. “Last year, the city council, the labor movement, business and community leaders came together to pass much needed legislation to expand the L.A. Convention Center. As a result, marquee conventions are booking as we speak.”

That includes the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (15,000 people in 2031), American Geophysical Union (25,000 people in 2032) and International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference and Exposition (15,000 people in 2037).

On the flipside, there’s billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who told KNX News this week that Downtown has been “decimated” by crime and homelessness. He slammed Downtown for its “graffiti towers” in the unfinished Oceanwide Plaza and cited a 40 percent vacancy rate among offices (a CBRE fourth-quarter report pegged it at about 25 percent).

Will he or won’t he?

By the time you read this, the deadline for L.A. mayoral candidates to declare their intent to run will have passed on Saturday.

By then, a full and final view of who is going up against Bass on the June ticket will be known.

For less than a day it seemed like Caruso was back in the mix after telling KNX he needs some time to “process” a damning report from the Los Angeles Times alleging Bass ordered the watering down of the after-action report analyzing the city and emergency services’ responses to last January’s Palisades Fire. The Times report, which Bass’s office refuted, led to questions of whether Caruso might reconsider last month’s announcement to not run for political office. He added that he’d speak with family and “we’ll see.” The next day his political consultant, Mike Murphy, reportedly shut down any prospects of a reversal on January’s decision to not run.

And, that’s that — for now anyhow.

Trading spaces

Recent months have seen a flurry of recruiting activity among residential brokerages.

Justin Alexander and most of his team headed for the exit at Hilton Hilton to make a jump to The Agency. Interesting move that leaves Alexander’s former firm with four agents, according to California Department of Real Estate records as of Friday. The brokerage helmed by Rick Hilton already saw a big departure last fall when Hilton’s son, Barron Hilton and Barron’s wife Tessa Hilton, decamped to Compass. That the couple, who were the Beverly Hills brokerage’s co-CEOs and co-founders, made the decision to leave was a curious one.

Alexander wasn’t the only one looking for a change of scenery.

Elsewhere, Jon Grauman and Adam Rosenfeld’s Resident Group brought on Kevin Stewart as a partner. They plucked him from their former firm, The Agency.

Meanwhile, Coldwell Banker Realty Foothills office manager Lori Ramirez was also heads down on recruiting. Over the past year, she’s brought on 29 agents across the Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge and San Marino offices, with nearly half of those new recruits joining the brokerage in the past three months.