Spotlight

Market Update | Nov 20

Jon Granston | December 5, 2025

Filtering through this weeks headlines...

Top Headlines: Delivered by Advisory | Leonard Steinberg

November 20, 2025

01 Apartment developers across the city are lining up to submit proposals for 100%-affordable (for tenants who make no more than 80% of the city’s median income) apartment buildings. The rush is thanks to a policy that promises to streamline the approval process by cutting the previous wait time from about a year to 60 days. Since the policy was enacted in December 2022, plans for about 42,300 units of affordable housing have been submitted.

(WSJ)

02 Every day won’t feel loud, but every day counts. Keep showing up.

03 San Diego Botanic Garden

Stroll through 37 acres of lush gardens in Encinitas, with themed gardens, bamboo groves, and winding trails. Bring a picnic, or plan for coffee/tea at their café if you go mid-day. For a relaxing pace: arrive in the morning (after about 9-10am) before it gets too warm, wander for an hour or two, then grab lunch nearby in Encinitas village.

Tip: If you’re coming from inland, layer up — the coast can be breezy even if inland it’s warmer.

SDBG.org

04 70% of ultra-luxe home sales in Dubai are off plan, well before a building is constructed. More luxury homes were sold in Dubai in recent quarters than any other city, including New York or London, attracting ultra wealthy consumers from around the globe via super-low taxation and super-low crime rates. Luxe home prices in Dubai are still about a third of that in New York and London. China’s pre-sales system has been widely blamed for fueling excess supply contributing to a debt pile-up for developers, leading to an epic slowdown that’s dragged on for more than 4 years

(Bloomberg)

05 A Malibu neighborhood landmark has been sold for around $1.8 million per room: L.A.-based CHROME HEARTS paid $37.5 million for the Surfrider Hotel overlooking the Pacific, one of highest prices paid per room in Southern California.

(WSJ)

06 ART-flation? “America,” a solid gold toilet made by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, who also created the infamous duct-taped banana (titled “Comedian”) that sold at Sotheby’s for $6.2 million is one of two toilets that Cattelan made from 220 pounds of solid 18-karat gold. While its value as an art piece will be revealed at auction later this month, the value of the gold has more than doubled......

(CNBC)