State of the market: Real estate experts weigh in on county climate
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
Solano business leaders got together Thursday morning to hear about the condition of real estate in the county.
What did they hear? Things are good, but could be better.
Veteran industrial and office property broker Brooks Pedder of Collier's International said Bay Area firms looking to expand operations are moving through Solano, having already saturated Benicia and Fairfield and are headed east.
"Dixon and Vacaville are positioned to capture that business," Pedder told several dozen area business leaders at the Solano Economic Development Corporation Real Estate Round-up in Fairfield.
He said a big barrier in Vacaville is a lack of improved sites ready for a business to move into. The biggest issue, though, is the Interstate 80-I-680 interchange.
"This has got to be No. 1 priority," Pedder said. "We've got to get this interchange resolved."
Jose McNeill, the portfolio manager for the California Public Employees Retirement System, was also on hand. He said the pension fund has been selling a lot of its real estate holdings - the opposite of what those in the private sector have been doing.
"That's the fun of CalPERS," McNeill said. "We're playing the biggest Monopoly game in the world with real estate."
McNeill said CalPERS has been working to diversify its holdings, shifting portions of its retail and industrial investment to international real estate and other areas.
McNeill also said that while the retail boom in Solano County is great, the effect on employees of those new businesses has to be looked at closely, citing rising home prices and a falling affordability index.
The portfolio manager also briefly addressed the "housing bubble," saying he didn't think it would burst, but admitting it's unlikely it will continue to expand.
Dave Dolter, the vice president of planning and entitlements for Centex Homes in Northern California, also warned the business leaders about the growing affordability gap.
Dolter gave statistics revealing that median home prices in all seven Solano cities increased more than 17 percent over the past year, including 20.8 percent in Vacaville and a whopping 30.5 percent in Fairfield.
With that growth in cost, the housing affordability index in Solano is at 30 percent - lower than it has been in decades, Dolter said.
Dolter said several things need to happen at the state level to address the area's housing shortage and the escalating prices, including a streamlined process for environmental approval on infill projects, restrictions to legal challenges made against permitted projects, enforced long-term planning for cities and making affordable housing a statewide responsibility.
"My buyers subsidize that, and that's not fair," Dolter said of affordable housing units.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Solano business leaders got together Thursday morning to hear about the condition of real estate in the county.
What did they hear? Things are good, but could be better.
Veteran industrial and office property broker Brooks Pedder of Collier's International said Bay Area firms looking to expand operations are moving through Solano, having already saturated Benicia and Fairfield and are headed east.
"Dixon and Vacaville are positioned to capture that business," Pedder told several dozen area business leaders at the Solano Economic Development Corporation Real Estate Round-up in Fairfield.
He said a big barrier in Vacaville is a lack of improved sites ready for a business to move into. The biggest issue, though, is the Interstate 80-I-680 interchange.
"This has got to be No. 1 priority," Pedder said. "We've got to get this interchange resolved."
Jose McNeill, the portfolio manager for the California Public Employees Retirement System, was also on hand. He said the pension fund has been selling a lot of its real estate holdings - the opposite of what those in the private sector have been doing.
"That's the fun of CalPERS," McNeill said. "We're playing the biggest Monopoly game in the world with real estate."
McNeill said CalPERS has been working to diversify its holdings, shifting portions of its retail and industrial investment to international real estate and other areas.
McNeill also said that while the retail boom in Solano County is great, the effect on employees of those new businesses has to be looked at closely, citing rising home prices and a falling affordability index.
The portfolio manager also briefly addressed the "housing bubble," saying he didn't think it would burst, but admitting it's unlikely it will continue to expand.
Dave Dolter, the vice president of planning and entitlements for Centex Homes in Northern California, also warned the business leaders about the growing affordability gap.
Dolter gave statistics revealing that median home prices in all seven Solano cities increased more than 17 percent over the past year, including 20.8 percent in Vacaville and a whopping 30.5 percent in Fairfield.
With that growth in cost, the housing affordability index in Solano is at 30 percent - lower than it has been in decades, Dolter said.
Dolter said several things need to happen at the state level to address the area's housing shortage and the escalating prices, including a streamlined process for environmental approval on infill projects, restrictions to legal challenges made against permitted projects, enforced long-term planning for cities and making affordable housing a statewide responsibility.
"My buyers subsidize that, and that's not fair," Dolter said of affordable housing units.
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
posted by Solano EDC at 10:49 AM
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