Latest news with #SeanBurton
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cityview's CEO on how new legislation could lead to more housing in California
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. In late June, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation as part of the 2025-2026 state budget that reformed the California Environmental Quality Act. CEQA is intended to inform the government and the public about the potential environmental effects of proposed developments. Yet, many developers argue that it has become a tool for neighborhood groups to block housing. 'There are a lot of deals that didn't happen or got scrapped because of the threat of litigation or the threat of delay,' Sean Burton, CEO of Los Angeles-based apartment owner and developer Cityview, told Multifamily Dive. 'It was just too much risk, and so people passed on projects.' However, the budget, part of what Newsom called California's Abundance Agenda, promises to streamline CEQA review to expedite the delivery of housing and infrastructure projects, including infill housing, high-speed rail facilities, utilities, broadband, community-serving facilities, wildfire prevention and farmworker housing. 'It's the most significant land use legislation in California that I've seen in my career,' Burton said. 'CEQA has been around since 1971. It was probably the major impediment to getting new housing built in the state.' However, Burton now believes that more apartment developers will start exploring opportunities and taking action in California. Previously, some high-profile firms, such as Atlanta-based Wood Partners, had left the state. 'I think development deals are going to be more financeable in California because there is more certainty for investors and for lenders,' Burton said. Here, Burton talks with Multifamily Dive about the opportunity for development, the labor market and Cityview's decision to expand. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. SEAN BURTON: For the last couple of years, we focused on acquisitions because we could buy at a deep discount to replacement costs. When you have a significant delta between the existing replacement cost and the new cost, it makes sense to buy rather than build. But what we've seen over the last six months is that so many people are chasing acquisitions, that it's really driving cap rates down again to the point where the discount isn't that significant anymore to replacement cost. We believe we can build for a yield of 6.5% to 7% on cost, whereas it would likely sell at a cap rate of 4.5% to 5% today. That premium of 200 to 250 basis points makes development attractive. You're seeing cap rates start to go down, and frankly, there are just a lot more firms competing for acquisitions. For every acquisition deal, we have 20 competitors versus two or three for every development deal. So, there are fewer people doing development. It's a less-efficient market. It's more complicated. We're completing a 266-unit project located across from SpaceX's headquarters in the Los Angeles area. In LA County, we have 2,500 units under entitlement. We have the land, either we own it or we've optioned it. We're preparing to develop, so we haven't put sticks in the air in a couple of years because it's been really challenging due to high interest rates. Then, also here in LA, we passed a mansion tax, which has made it almost impossible to build new market-rate housing in the city. It will definitely affect construction labor, especially for smaller homebuilders. At Cityview, we're a fairly large developer. We work with big general contractors. We're not seeing it in our projects, but we're certainly hearing about smaller developers experiencing it. We're hearing a lot of concern from single-family homebuilders because of the need to rebuild from the fires here in LA. We just made the decision that it's a big country, and it was getting more and more challenging, frankly, to do things here in California. We are the fourth or fifth largest economy in the world on any given day, which means there's opportunity. But I don't want to put the fate of the whole firm and our future growth and scaling and development in California's hands. We've seen really good opportunities in places like Boston and Atlanta and Orlando, Florida, and obviously Dallas — markets that have a lot of demand and really strong growth. And, it's been our desire for a while to expand into those markets. Starting last summer, we worked with a third-party market study company, and we looked at the 40 biggest markets in the country across 55 different variables, including supply, demand, quality of life, education, economic factors and finance factors. We really whittled down to the top 10 markets that we wanted to focus on. And three were in the East — Boston, Atlanta and Orlando. Texas was already a priority market for us. So we decided to shift some of our focus and effort to investing in those states and cities. Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Yahoo
Dealer has £2k debt paid off by gran - now he's been jailed
Debt-ridden Sean Burton sold three drugs to reduce the money he owed his dealer. The 22-year-old was just 16 when he was introduced to drugs and ran up a £13,000 debt. He was pressured to sell heroin, cocaine and cannabis to reduce the debt. But police busted the operation after investigating two drugs lines. Now Burton has been jailed for 31 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. READ MORE: Student entrepreneur running business from bedroom makes £788k made-up VAT claim READ MORE: Shein shopper buys handbag - and can't believe what was inside Police arrested Burton on January 9. They seized his phone and attended his address. They recovered a blue wrap containing 2.3 grams of cocaine; 4.78 grams of heroin; digital scales with traces of heroin, cocaine and caffeine; 9.47 grams of cannabis; an iPhone; and £45. The iPhone was registered to the defendant's then partner. Prosecutor Danny Smith said: "Drug users contacted the phone and asked how much they owed. The user agreed a payment time and date for the debt." The court heard Burton has a previous conviction for conspiracy to supply class A drugs. Burton, of Arbour Street, Hanley, pleaded guilty to two charges of being concerned in the supply of a class A drug and one charge of being concerned in the supply of a class B drug. Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said Burton was 'employed to pay off a debt'. He said: "He clearly did not have an operational or management function in the chain. He had some awareness of the scale of the operation. He was performing a limited role under direction. He was being controlled by others to whom he owed the debt. He has no influence on those above him in the chain. "At 16 he was introduced to drugs by people significantly older than him. He got into debt as a result of his drug use. He was offered the opportunity to get out of debt by supplying drugs. At 16, he saw those older individuals making money. He accepts he stupidly looked up to them and the lifestyle that they were living." Mr Muldoon said Burton has not offended since his arrest and has taken steps to move away from his association with the individuals who were controlling him. His gran paid them £2,000 and they appear to have accepted that as an end to his involvement. Mr Muldoon added: "He is adamant this will be his last time before the court. He wants to obtain gainful full-time employment and he wants to have a family." Mrs Justice Tipples said: "You submitted a basis of plea which said you accepted taking part in the supply of drugs. The reason was due to having a debt. It amounted to £13,000. You were worried for the safety of your family. The people involved were aware of their addresses. You were receiving calls to remind you that you had an outstanding debt that needed to be paid. You say you had no other way to pay the debt back." Get all the latest news from court here
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cityview opens New York City office
This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. Earlier this week, Cityview announced its expansion into the Eastern U.S. by opening a New York City office headed by Christoph Donner, the firm's global head of capital development and strategy and former CEO of PIMCO Prime Real Estate LLC. The Los Angeles-based real estate investment manager intends to strategically expand its investment and capital-raising strategy beyond its existing Western and Southwestern U.S. markets into the East Coast. Cityview also plans to pursue acquisition opportunities in Boston; Orlando, Florida; and Atlanta. In the future, it is targeting Raleigh, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina, according to a news release. To determine where to expand, Cityview partnered with RCLCO Real Estate Consulting to identify high-potential markets for multifamily investment based on historical performance, current fundamentals and forward-looking economic forecasts based on 55 key data points. 'Cityview has historically focused on supply-constrained markets on the West Coast, and in recent years we've diversified our strategy to include more demand-driven centers across the Southwestern U.S., including Dallas and Phoenix,' said Sean Burton, CEO of Cityview, in a news release. 'Now, we're expanding nationally with a strategic move into East Coast markets that show strong fundamentals and are poised for future growth.' The key drivers in Cityview's expansion markets are: Boston's high level of professional employment and education, which creates a stable foundation for demand, according to Cityview. New deliveries in the metro are low relative to demand and projected future supply. Orlando's strong positive exposure to demand and relatively small negative exposure to supply, according to Cityview. The firm says the market's strong employment and population growth and its business-friendly environment help drive its strong performance. Atlanta's employment and population growth, which drove demand in the market higher than many of its peers, according to Cityview. In addition, the metro ranked first in average annual return over the past decade and in the top five for average yearly sales volume. Cityview has also been active recently in its current investment markets. In the first quarter, it acquired four assets and recapitalized one property. Last December, the firm bought Candela, a 112-unit value-add in the Hollywood Hills and Franklin Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. It paid Raintree Partners $36 million for the asset. 'Well-located multifamily assets are poised to become even more desirable over the next five years as new multifamily construction starts have ground to a halt, making 2025 a prime opportunity to acquire existing product at today's basis,' Burton told Multifamily Dive in January. Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday. Recommended Reading Greystar joins the direct financing fray Sign in to access your portfolio
