Industry practitioners in lending and policy discuss the research and recommendations in the recently released paper “ADU Construction Financing: Opportunities to Expand Access for Homeowners.”

The joint paper, produced by the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation and the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, compiles national data and stakeholder interviews to provide a picture of the hurtles to financing and what barriers could be removed to bring ADU construction to scale.

Included in the discussion:

• Recent updates to Freddie Mac’s ADU policies
• How friction during financing curtails homeowner commitment
• Appraisal gaps in accurately assessing ADU value
• How lenders see contractors mitigating financial risk
• The importance of targeted consumer protections as more data emerges

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Download the report

Richard Green (Director, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate) delivers a presentation on how the ongoing conflict in Ukraine could impact the global economic trajectory as many countries, including the United States, attempt to cool inflation without triggering a recession.

Green dives into more specific factors contributing to the USA’s resiliency or vulnerability to global economic shocks. He shares data on why Cap Rates are likely to increase in the future, the trends economists look for with the revitalization of goods and services spending, how real estate impacts inflation, and which US states boast more robust infrastructure to weather any potential global economic downturns. Green also fields questions on affordable housing, the global aging workforce, commercial mortgage rates, and more.

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Austin Beutner joins Richard Green for a discussion on what it takes to accomplish real change in Los Angeles. 

Beutner asserts that the twin forces of leadership and governance have the power to solve many of the ongoing and intensifying issues in the county like homelessness, education, and land use. As Superintendent of LAUSD during the pandemic, Beutner oversaw unprecedented responses like providing free food for the community, securing broadband internet access and devices for students in need, and providing reliable and cost-effective COVID testing for the nation’s second-largest school district. Other school districts in 40 states across the country adopted the models LAUSD pioneered to meet their own community needs.

With that crisis response as the groundwork, Green and Beutner cover such topics as the inherent limits to the Los Angeles mayoral office, what structures hold back the capacity for LA County to respond effectively, and Beutner’s latest project: a ballot initiative to bring the arts to all schools in California, Vote Arts and Minds.

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