A property owner in Canoga Park is looking to nearly double the number of units proposed for a commercial development off Sherman Way. 

Matt Towfighian of Warner Mega Properties submitted a revised application to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning that calls for a six-story building with 120 residences at 7220 North Owensmouth Avenue, Urbanize Los Angeles reported. State business records tie Warner Mega Properties to the West Hills address of 101 Family Medical Group, where Towfighian is listed as an employee. 

The application calls for more units and less parking in a shorter structure. Last year, Towfighian filed an application to build 70 units in a seven-story edifice at the site with a two-level, 92-space parking garage. The new plans slash parking capacity by more than half, calling for 41 spaces. The unit mix will remain the same with one-, two- and three-bedroom residences. 

The development would consist entirely of affordable apartments, making it eligible for Executive Directive 1 approval. Under ED1, 100 percent income-restricted projects can skip the public hearings process and see their applications expedited and approved in a matter of weeks. 

The proposed multifamily project would join an 80-unit affordable housing complex that was recently completed two blocks south at 6940 North Owensmouth Avenue. Other moderate-income developments have risen on Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Canoga Avenue, according to Urbanize. 

Warner Mega’s proposed development is just north of Warner Center, the master-planned business and entertainment district that has seen an influx of commercial developers looking to get a piece of the pie in the west San Fernando Valley. 

Late last year, the Los Angeles City Council approved a proposal from Toll Brothers to demolish offices at 6464 Canoga Avenue and build an eight-story building with 276 apartments and 8,600 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. That development is the first project to take advantage of density bonus incentives in the Warner Center Specific Plan area, allowing the developer to build larger than allowed by zoning rules in exchange for some affordable apartments. — Chris Malone Méndez

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Parkview Financial pitches 211 apartments in Canoga Park

Canoga Park multifamily complex trades for $54M

The Half Moon Bay City Council voted recently to repeal regulations that cap annual rent increases for some older multifamily housing and require landlords to register units with the city. Approved by a vote of 3-2, the repeal of laws enacted in 2024 takes effect on June 5.

The Bay Area community joins other California cities, including Concord and Salinas, that have moved to scale back local rent control programs operating on top of state law, the California Apartment Association said. Half Moon Bay’s rent cap applies to certain multifamily properties built before Feb. 1, 1995, limiting annual increases to the lesser of 3% or 80% of the Consumer Price Index.

For the 2025-26 rental year, the allowable increase was 1.23%, reported CAA. The statewide Tenant Protection Act caps rent changes to the lesser of 5% or CPI.

The repeals were supported by CAA and advocated by the San Mateo County Association of Realtors (SAMCAR). “The impact of these policies was not theoretical and was already being felt, including property owners operating on razor-thin margins or at a loss, deferred maintenance on rental properties, housing providers choosing to sell rather than continuing to operate under unsustainable conditions, and potential buyers stepping away due to restrictive cap structures,” SAMCAR said earlier this year.

In San Diego, Good Life Property Management saw the repeal as a harbinger. “While Half Moon Bay is hundreds of miles from us, the political signal matters for every San Diego landlord, Orange County landlord, and Riverside County landlord watching their own city councils,” the company posted on Instagram.

Pictured: Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay.

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Together AI will soon move into a new 150,000-square-foot headquarters in San Francisco’s Showplace Square.

The neocloud start-up inked a deal for two floors of the roughly 329,000-square-foot office building at 2 Henry Adams Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

Financial terms of the six-year lease from majority owner RREEF Property Trust were not disclosed. Broker JLL represented Together, while Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlords.

Together plans to move into the 111-year-old brick building this summer from its current digs at 251 Rhode Island Street, a couple of blocks away, where it had initially rented 3,000 square feet three years ago.

The move represents a 4,900 percent jump in office space for the fast growing tech firm, which provides services and infrastructure to allow companies to train and deploy generative AI models in the cloud.

The company now employs just more than 300 people, Kai Mak, its chief revenue officer, told the Business Times. By the end of the year, it aims to employ at least 500 workers.

“As we’re in this hypergrowth phase with our business, we just want to be in a sustainable place that can have the envelope to fit our growth,” he said.

The startup joins a legion of aggressive startups with links to San Francisco’s booming AI sector expanding at light speed across the city, such as Anthropic. Many of those companies, like Together, are adding to their offices in fits and starts — a departure from technology tenants of the past decade, which generally snapped up blocks of offices at once. 

The dynamic is helping drive the recovery of San Francisco’s office market, which has seen its office vacancy fall to 30.8 percent in the first three months of the year, down from 32.8 percent at the end of last year, according to CBRE.

The decline this quarter comes as San Francisco tenants absorbed 1.8 million square feet of offices – the highest quarterly net absorption since CBRE began tracking it.

Even after a quarter’s worth of robust leasing and blockbuster deals from Anthropic and OpenAI, demand for offices in the city has not declined, according to Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center. While AI firms are driving the leasing frenzy, they’ve helped convince tenants in other sectors to close the vacancy gap.

Mak said he soon expects to see “some potential monster IPOs,” which could usher in even more growth among AI companies — including their office needs.

“We’re already seeing the office environment be quite competitive. I only expect that to accelerate over the next year or two, so it was quite important for us to ensure we got a really great space,” he told the Business Times.

– Dana Bartholomew

The new limit also covers Freddie Mac’s special exception areas — Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The new limit, a $39,375 difference from last year, marks the 10th straight year of increases.

“The steps taken by FHA today to increase HECM loan limits provide greater flexibility for America’s older homeowners to monetize their home equity as part of a comprehensive retirement plan to meet everyday retirement needs,” Steve Irwin, president of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), said in a statement. “We appreciate the leadership at FHA for recognizing this critical need.”

FHA published the details in Mortgagee Letter 2025-22 and said the new policy will be added to a forthcoming update of its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1.

Proprietary (or jumbo) reverse mortgages, which are privately insured and not federally backed, generally have higher maximum limits than HECMs, allowing borrowers to access larger loan amounts.

For example, Finance of America‘s HomeSafe suite of jumbo reverse mortgages offers homeowners 55 and older in certain areas options for getting the most out of their home’s equity, including loans up to $4 million. Longbridge Financial‘s and Fairway Home Mortgage‘s reverse divisions advertise that they, too, allow access up to $4 million.

The new limits come a little over three weeks after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) raised the 2026 conforming loan limit by 3.25% to $832,750, with high-cost area ceilings set at $1,249,125 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In its announcement, FHFA wrote: “According to the nominal, seasonally adjusted, expanded-data FHFA HPI, house prices increased 3.26%, on average, between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025. Therefore, the baseline CLL in 2026 will increase by the same percentage.”

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is increasing the “floor” and “ceiling” FHA loan limits in 2025 to $524,225 and $1,209,750, respectively, the agency announced Tuesday.

The new FHA loan limits apply to forward mortgages for a one-unit property and take effect on Jan. 1, according to the publication of FHA Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-21. In 2024, those figures were $498,257 and $1,149,825, respectively.

The new FHA loan limits mark increases of $25,968 for the floor and $59,925 for the ceiling, respectively.

FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon said that these changes in the loan limits will necessarily keep pace with increases in home prices in the coming year.

“Today’s announcement of loan limit increases, calculated according to statute, enables the FHA program to keep up with nationwide price appreciation,” Gordon said. “Regular adjustment of loan limits ensures that FHA financing continues to be available in all markets to all those who rely on our programs to access homeownership.”

While home-price appreciation slowed slightly in 2024, prices still went up nationally according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s third quarter 2024 Housing Price Index (HPI) report, also published on Tuesday.

Home prices increased by an average of 4.3% between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024, according to the FHFA report. This growth rate is slightly lower than 2023’s 5.5%, but much lower than the rate seen during the same period in 2022 (12.3%).

“FHA must update its annual loan limits each year using a formula prescribed in the National Housing Act (NHA),” the agency said in its announcement of the new limits. “This formula uses county or Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) home sale data to derive new loan limits for the three cost categories established by the law.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, individual county limits on FHA’s database are not yet updated.

The FHA national low-cost area mortgage limits are 65% of the national conforming limit of $806,500 for a one-unit property. The high-cost area mortgage limits are 150% of the national conforming limit, according to FHA.

There are some exceptions. Mortgage limits for special areas, including the states and territories of Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands account for higher construction costs. The ceiling rate for these areas is $1,814,625 for a one-unit property in 2025.

FHA also announced the national lending limit for government-backed reverse mortgages, known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, on Tuesday. HECM loan limits were increased for the ninth consecutive year in a row to $1,209,750 in 2025.

Meanwhile, the FHFA also announced on Tuesday that conforming loan limits will increase to $806,500 in 2025.

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Praising tariffs as “the greatest thing ever invented“ is unusual — that title is typically reserved for for sliced bread — but Donald Trump has always been vocal about his trade policies.

An impending return to the White House for Trump could raise U.S. homebuilding costs as his proposed tariffs would likely increase prices for essential construction materials. This echoes the impacts on housing costs from his previous term through higher tariffs on Canadian lumber.

Under President Joe Biden’s administration, tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber have persisted and even doubled. This has led to mill closures and job losses in Canada along with higher costs for U.S. builders.

Trump’s current proposals include a 10% or 20% tariff on all imports across the board, along with an additional tariff of 60% to 100% for products imported from China. On Nov. 4, the last day of campaigning, Trump also vowed to impose a 25% tariff on all Mexican goods “if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country.” 

Pantheon Macroeconomics forecasters estimate that a 10% universal tariff could raise inflation by roughly 0.8 percentage points next year, adding further strain on U.S. manufacturers. According to the Tax Foundation, a 20% tariff would increase taxes on U.S. households by an average of $2,045.

“We don’t have enough details to put a fine point to it yet, but based upon the broad outlines that have been described, there’s the risk it could add to the cost of housing,” said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). “The most likely impact of tariffs would be to add to the cost of housing at a time that affordability is really a challenge.”

The newest framing lumber price measure from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) indicates steady increases, with framing lumber up 2.9% for the week ending Nov. 1 and 17.2% higher than a year ago. Sawmill curtailments and closures in North America, especially in Canada, are impacting supply as companies like Western Forest Products and Canfor reduce production due to weak demand and high U.S. tariffs. 

It’s not just raw materials as items like garage doors, air conditioning units and dumpsters may also see price hikes. Trump’s previous tariffs included up to 30% levies on steel and aluminum, raising construction costs across the board, as reported by Voice Of America. 

Since the details of the tariffs aren’t set in stone, Fratantoni said there are a few avenues they could create.

“If there’s just a tariff specific to one country, there’s always the potential to source those inputs from someone else for a similar cost,” he said. “If it’s the broad-base tariffs, that reduces the ability to find a lower-cost input, so that’s probably going to be more inflationary across the whole economy and adding more costs in the housing industry with more certainty.”

During Trump’s first term, tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber led to a surge in costs for homebuilders. Back in 2018, the NAHB estimated that the tariffs added nearly $9,000 to the cost of constructing a single-family home. The impact on lumber prices was dramatic, with costs rising close to 80% year over year, in part due to the taxes.

Per the Tax Foundation, the Trump administration implemented nearly $80 billion in new taxes on Americans by imposing tariffs on thousands of products value at roughly $380 billion in 2018 and 2019 — one of the largest tax hikes in decades. 

Ryan Tatro, owner of Connecticut-based RT Construction & Maintenance LLC, said that he’s optimistic about construction costs despite the looming news of tariffs.

“During the Biden administration, my revenue dropped 21%,” Tatro said. “Costs have just gone up and there was a shortage of workers. Five years ago, interest [rates] were lower; materials were a lot lower. For example, a sheet of OSB plywood four years ago was $9, and it’s gotten up to almost $50.”

Tatro said that he and his colleagues in construction have hope, but he admits he doesn’t know what could happen in the next year.

“It’s really affected builders because you give a price on a job, and back in the day, you could give a customer a 60-day window. Now, you’re literally giving people five days because prices fluctuate so much,” he said.

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This year’s University of Southern California Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast predicts rent increases for the next two years throughout the region.  However, the annual report also noted that the economy’s surprising resilience can’t alleviate the region’s housing shortage.

“While fighting inflation, the Federal Reserve accomplished their soft landing after holding mortgage rates historically high,” said forecast author Moussa Diop, associate professor of real estate at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. “Though the economy has proven quite robust, new housing supply and affordability remain on shaky ground.”

He continued, “As rates drop slowly, the mortgage market will improve, but we’ve experienced a construction slowdown in an area dangerously tight on new supply. Meanwhile, states like Florida and Texas are outbuilding us. When it comes to housing, California is falling behind.” 

The annual forecast provides current and projected multifamily rents and vacancies for the next eight quarters in five regions: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties, and the Inland Empire: 

In what has become a familiar fall ritual, mortgage lenders are increasing their conforming loan limits months ahead of the FHFA’s official announcement. On Friday, Rocket Pro TPO and Pennymac both announced an increase in their conforming loan limits to $802,650 — before the expected increase by the FHFA in November. Rocket’s increase was effective Friday and Pennymac’s increase will be effective for new broker locks on Monday, Sept. 16.

Alaska and Hawaii continue to get a bigger increase under the lenders’ new guidelines, with a new loan limit at both lenders of $1,203,975. FHFA’s conforming loan limits for 2024 are $766,550 for the lower 48 and $1,149,825 for Alaska and Hawaii. The new threshold announced by lenders is a 4.71% increase over this year’s conforming loan limit. The FHFA will not announce its official conforming loan limit for 2025 until November.

In 2008, as a result of the great financial crisis, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) established a formula which mandated that the conforming loan limit could only rise after home prices returned to pre-recession levels. That condition was finally met in 2016 when the FHFA increased the conforming limits for the first time in a decade. 

Here are the increases in FHFA’s conforming loan limit for one-unit loans for the lower 48 states since 2016.

• 2016: $417,000
• 2017: $424,100 — 1.7% increase
• 2018: $453,100 — 6.8% increase
• 2019: $484,350 — 6.8% increase
• 2020: $510,400 — 5.3% increase
• 2021: $548,250 — 7.4% increase
• 2022: $647,200 — 18% increase
• 2023: $726,200 — 12.2% increase
• 2024: $766,550 — 5.5% increase

The conforming loan limit has increased 50.1% since 2020, mirroring the sharp increase in home prices in the aftermath of the pandemic.

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The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced on Monday that it has raised lending limits for its Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program, a move designed to align the FHA with market forces and to encourage more lenders to participate in the program as the Biden administration makes a renewed push on affordable housing.

The move was announced in Title I Letter 488 released on Monday, in conjunction with official statements from FHA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The new limits make use of “new methodologies for calculating and updating the program’s limits,” which were part of a final rule published Feb. 29, FHA explained.

They are designed to better align with current market prices and “are expected to encourage more lenders to offer the program to homebuyers seeking to purchase manufactured homes and the lots on which they sit.”

This marks the first update to the Title I program loan limits since 2008. The change is designed to support recent statements from the Biden administration regarding housing supply increases and encouraging the use of manufactured homes “as an affordable housing source,” FHA explained.

The new, nationwide Title I limits are effective for FHA case numbers assigned on or after March 29, 2024. The limits are:

• Combination loan (single-section), $148,909
• Combination loan (multi-section), $237,096
• Manufactured home loan (single-section), $105,532
• Manufactured home loan (multi-section), $193,719
• Manufactured home lot loan, $43,377

“We are using every tool possible to make affordable housing available for all Americans,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Today’s announcement is another positive step toward helping people to buy manufactured homes, an innovative solution to the affordable housing supply crisis.”

FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon emphasized the affordability potential that comes from these changes.

“We hope these changes will prompt more lenders to consider using the Title I program to meet the financing needs of consumers purchasing or refinancing manufactured homes,” she said.

The new limits are supposed to be adjusted on an annual basis. Revisions to the limits and the larger program will be incorporated into the Single Family Housing Handbook 4000.1 at a later date, FHA stated.

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