Who Are the Biggest Buyers of Bay Area Land?

A handful of corporations, nonprofits, public agencies and private investors have been on a property buying spree from Solano County to the South Bay.

The San Francisco Chronicle has pegged the five largest buyers of properties across the Bay Area from the middle of last year to this summer, according to a newspaper analysis.

The Chronicle used county assessor data and previous reporting to identify the biggest buyers — from one of the world’s largest companies to a local supportive housing provider.

The buyers include Flannery Associates, Brilliant Corners, Apple, Marin County Open Space District and investors Kenneth Mattson and Timothy LeFever.

The biggest buyer was Folsom-based Flannery Associates, the mystery firm behind $800 million in secret farmland purchases around Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, backed by a who’s who of billionaires from Silicon Valley.

Last year, Flannery rebranded itself as California Forever, led by Jan Sramek, a former Goldman Sachs trader with plans to build a utopian city with tens of thousands of residents, clean energy, public transportation and local jobs 60 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Flannery bought at least 57 parcels of property in Solano County from mid-2023 to mid-2024, according to the Chronicle analysis. By this summer, the firm owned 55,000 acres spread over more than 300 parcels.

Plans to convince voters to approve a zone change stalled because of community opposition.

Next on the Chronicle list are Mattson and LeFever, two Sonoma County developers who now accuse each other in court of financial misconduct.

The owners of LeFever Mattson Property Management, based in Citrus Heights, bought at least 15 properties in Sonoma County during the period, according to the Chronicle analysis. By this summer, the duo owned at least 214 properties across the Bay Area, mostly in Sonoma and Solano counties.

In May 2024, LeFever accused Mattson of defrauding investors. The FBI then raided Mattson’s home in Sonoma County. During the fallout, Mattson sold off at least a dozen properties to Chris Fanini, co-founder of San Francisco-based Weebly.

Brilliant Corners, a provider of supportive housing, bought at least two properties in Solano County and at least one property in Marin County during the period. The San Francisco-based nonprofit owned at least 58 properties across the Bay Area by this summer, according to the Chronicle analysis of assessors data, mostly in Solano and Sonoma counties.

Apple, based in Cupertino, bought at least two Santa Clara County office buildings during the period, according to the Chronicle analysis. The acquisitions brought its Bay Area portfolio up to at least 23 parcels, all in Santa Clara County. The assessed value of the firm’s Bay Area properties rose $600 million to $2.2 billion this summer, from $1.6 billion last summer.

The Marin County Open Space District, a county agency that maintains environmental preserves and hiking trails, bought at least two properties during the period. By this summer, the district owned at least 225 properties across Marin County, according to the Chronicle study.

— Dana Bartholomew