Ep. 18: When Regional Markets Don't Match the National Narrative - Sean Burton - CEO of Cityview

On today’s episode, I sit down with Sean Burton, CEO of CityView, a vertically integrated real estate investment management and development firm focused on workforce and attainable housing in the Western U.S. Sean joined CityView in 2003 first as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer and then as President from 2008 through 2015. Now, as CEO, Sean is focused on the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the company. 

In our conversation, we talked about…

• Demographic shifts and the important roles that cities play in our society
• Differences between headlines and reality - LA needs 57k new units per year to maintain stasis
• How to navigate uncertainty around a recession 

Links:

Sean on LinkedIn

Cityview

Brandon on LinkedIn

Provide feedback for the podcast

Topics:

(00:01:17) Sean’s career and an overview of Cityview

(00:03:29) Why has the term ‘urban infill’ fallen out of favor?

(00:04:25) What does it mean to be a specialist investment manager?

(00:07:05) Have you branched out into 3rd part Property Management?

(00:08:02) How has the discourse around returning to cities impacted the markets you work in?

(00:11:00) What other markets are you in besides Los Angeles?

(00:13:30) What’s most surprised you about a market when you entered it?

(00:14:48) Why have you not expanded east from Texas?

(00:16:21) What’s happening on the ground in Los Angeles given what people say about the city in the national media?

(00:19:53) The Measure ULA Transfer Tax

(00:23:05) Who are your partners at Cityview and what are the headline stats of the organization?

(00:27:55) How do the fundamentals of all the different markets you’re in compare to one another?

(00:33:28) How does the discourse around the state of the economy affect developers?

(00:36:21) Would you buy distressed value-add opportunities?

(00:37:33) How are you perceived by the institutional investment community as a specialist?

(00:40:19) Where is capital coming from in your fund?

(00:43:59) Sean’s Role in the Biden Administration

(00:48:00) What’s something interesting about LAX that most travelers might not know?

(00:49:51) What is your priority over the next 18 months?