Ben Lee

CRE Land & Multifamily | Affordable Housing + Mixed Income

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

HACLA's board approved its midyear budget modification this week. If you own or build S8 properties in LA:

- HUD confirmed HACLA is out of shortfall. The $78M voucher funding gap is gone.

- The Section 8 application freeze is lifting. Voucher issuance resumes.

- HUD funding came in $137M above budget on higher payment standards.

This doesn't erase the turbulent last twelve months...but is the first real Section 8 good news LA has had in a while.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

New LAHD/TCAC rents live July 1. Schedule IX: $2,499 for a 1BD. Income ceiling is $93,280 for 80% AMI.

On privately funded 100% affordable projects, 80% of the rent roll benefits from Schedule IX. In submarkets like NoHo and Ktown, that’s basically market rent.

My prediction: affordable developers compete for market tenants with bigger 1+1s and more amenities.

Similar end product but they get to pursue the WTE and mission driven financing.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

Retail in South LA doesn’t survive on foot traffic. It survives on community.

The most rooted tenant of all? A church.

1645 W 48th St: hard corner, 10 apts over 3 retail, all faith-based tenants.

$1.975M | $180/SF | 7.58 GRM

DM for more info.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

What we’re seeing in the Central LA land market right now:

Billboard and EV charging operators are underwriting sites that multifamily developers are passing on.

Soft rents + stubbornly high construction costs have multifamily buyers frozen. These operators don’t care about either. They’re underwriting traffic counts and demographics, and they’re moving.

C2-1D on a high-traffic arterial with Hancock Park demographics is exactly what both are looking for.

We have one at Melrose and Rossmore. Motivated seller.

DM if you’re in either space.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

4 years ago this was a vacant ~10k sf lot.

Not the best use of a site just 10 mins south of the ~500k jobs in DTLA.

55 deed restricted units now sit here - ready for an operator to come in.

Rents are capped at ~$2,200, allowing the operator to capture a pro tax exemption.

DM for more info.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

Boom. Coming to market.

Institutional-sized. 118 units. Brand new construction, days from COO.

4186 Western Ave — priced below replacement cost for local operators and mission driven buyers.

Perfect candidate to capture the welfare tax exemption and push stabilized cap well above competing new construction inventory.

DM for full playbook.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

Something I wish someone told me earlier in my brokerage career: obsess over your target audience as much as product specialization.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

New shop. Same mission.

Moved the team over to Lyon Stahl. Pipeline of over $70M in active inventory and escrows.

Active deals across land, new construction, affordable, and student housing mean real conversations with operators still transacting in a challenging market.

DM to catch up.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

This pocket just south of DTLA has been the backbone of countless portfolios I’ve underwritten.

Family offices stack these bread-and-butter assets — low-basis, cash-flow positive deals that balance out negative leverage on the Westside.

Here’s one I’m taking to market.

6.55% cap, 8.67 GRM, 2 brand-new ADUs, 40%+ rent upside.

DM for more info.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

These older mixed-use assets are the largest stock of affordable housing in LA.

They’re not glamorous, but they’ve been the foundation of countless portfolios I’ve underwritten. Dozens of successful family offices and long-time LA investors that have bought or sold some version of this on their way up.

This one is a 9% cap going in and won’t last.
DM me for details.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

I'm primarily a listing agent, but some buy-side wins just hit different. Just closed on 13k SF of vacant land in Echo Park at $138/ft w/ 12-mo escrow to get buyer near RTI, zero out-of-pocket. Final project will deliver ~55 units of workforce housing for DTLA earners < $85k.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

“Ben, we need to sell. Where do we price this USC building to move ASAP?”

- $400 / foot
- 7.67% cap
- 8.42 GRM

24 beds, patrol zone. Fully leased for AY ‘25-‘26. Superior north of campus location. Kids love these townhomes with actual rooftop decks / amenities to party.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

Most ED1 projects aren’t getting built.

A small group of builders are making them pencil in 2025, despite all the headwinds.

Intel in the vid below:

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

An 8-unit for $1M.
An off-market 33-unit.
A vacant double lot well under list.

3 of the juiciest deals I’ve sold — and how my buyers got them before anyone else. 🎥👇

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

3 recent trades:
• 276 units – Baldwin Village
• 246 units – North Hollywood
• 84 units – Azusa

What do they have in common?

They’re all part of an emerging LA multifamily play giving investors stable yield + potential property tax exemptions.

It’s called NOAH — Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

Most apt investors have never heard of this NOI play.

It is called Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH). Partner with a nonprofit, convert RSO or workforce units, get the welfare tax exemption.

Lower expenses. Stable occupancy. In some LA submarkets, voucher rents beat market.

(video below)

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

RSO units are LA’s largest source of affordable housing, and value-add groups are starting to rebrand their business plans as NOAH plays.

Just closed a 3-building portfolio with ~40% voucher tenants. Buyer’s investing real capex and partnering with subsidy providers as units turn—a win across the board, especially with voucher rents now meeting or beating market in many LA submarkets.

[Ben Lee @EntitlementPro]

Boom. Taking the (maybe?) most viable RTI ED1 deal in LA to market.

Studio City. High Resource Area. AvalonBay is around the corner asking roughly 20% above covenant rents. That’s the spread and gap to market.

As of July 1, income ceilings are $84,800. One-bedrooms are at $2,272 with VPS upside to about $3,000 once HUD funding returns and SAFMR tiers are restored.

89 units mostly 1+1s and Type III construction. Designed by one of the top names in the game, bonus points if you can guess based off the rendering.

Already demoed, vacant, RTI, and priced right.

Build to around ~250 bps over stabilized cap. Pathway to additional upside through Section 8 or the WTE.

DM to walk through the numbers and plans.