My home state of California, along with a handful of other states, is run by politicians who love to do two things – tax and regulate. Here is a recent example:
A push to expand rent control in California is sending a chill through the state’s apartment industry, prompting more investors to sell properties or hold off on buying.
Ben Lamson, whose family owned just under 100 apartments in the Inland Empire area in Southern California, said he has sold about 70 units and is in contract to sell the remaining ones. He is taking all the money and investing it in properties in the Las Vegas area, he said.
Mr. Lamson said he started reading news about the push for rent control a year ago and decided it was time to leave the state where he was born and has lived for five decades. He and his wife bought a house for themselves in Las Vegas, where they plan to retire in the next five years.
In Santa Monica, the number of properties on the market is at the highest level in 20 years, according to Tony Solomon, a first vice president at Marcus & Millichap based in Southern California. Mr. Solomon said there are 90 properties on the market, about 80% more than normal. He said developers are also holding off on bidding on land to build new developments.
Laura Kusisto, Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2018, wsj.com
