The Hyperloop is coming to Las Vegas

Elon Musk’s radical transport system will be tested in Nevada in 2016. It has been recently reported that the Hyperloop is coming to Nevada for testing. Hyperloop Technologies and the Nevada Governor’s office selected 50 acres in North Las Vegas at Apex Industrial park to test out the prototype system. This proposed system will reach speeds to 700 plus MPH or San Francisco to LA in 30 minutes. This system will be tested by in Las Vegas. A rival test will be done by a separate company Hyperloop Transportation Technology north of Los Angeles. The Hyperloop plan will be elevated above ground and it will carry tubes powered mainly by solar energy. There may be some hic-ups in the engineering, but Elon Muck Hyperloop Technologies and the rival LA group Hyperloop Transportation Technology are both pushing this technology forward. There always seems to be a reference of the SF to LA, but this could work Dallas to Houston, or maybe NY to Washington. It is a rival to the California High Speed Rail and the Xpress West High Speed train from Los Angeles (Victorville to Las Vegas). The Cal High Speed Rail has broken ground in the Central Valley, but there are not enough funds currently to move it along to Palmdale. The Hyperloop has estimated that the cost per passenger from SF to LA maybe under $30, while the high speed rail will need $billions to complete will cost more per passenger. Let’s let this play out and see whose technology and if the State and Federal Government will approve a Hyperloop since they have already spent money and have voter approval on the Rail line.

New Positive Jobs News on the Antelope Valley Horizon

Northrop Grumman was awarded the “B3” new stealth bomber contract, but it is under appeal by Lockheed and Boeing. Lockheed also has a presence in Palmdale, if there is any change maybe Lockheed will get some input. The entire bidding process takes time, so it looks like Northrup will get the bid unless there was any illegal backdoor deals. But there is no evidence of that. Additionally, BYD is building electric buses and expanding their footprint in other cities and States. Also Kinkishiryo which is also in Palmdale has been building some rail cars for the Metro Rapid Transit system. They were going to pull out of Palmdale at one point, but tempers and accusations cooled. There are several solar power facilities taking place on the west side. These projects are being built and jobs are operating. Once the conduction faze is complete then many of those construction jobs will be gone. But it seems as soon as a project is completed then another one gets started. The sun keeps shining on solar in Lancaster and LA County land. More engineering jobs like these especially the new stealth bomber and the bus and train construction and manufacturing creates a need for housing in ownership and rentals. This all increases the value of land over time. This is all positive news for real estate and land investment.

Chinese Buyers are Buying Real Estate Across American and Beyond

The New York Times recently reported that Chinese buyers have been buying luxury high end apartments in London wealthier neighborhoods in Vancouver Canada and luxury condos in New York City and larger home in the Silicon Valley. These buyers are buying higher end properties in major cities which doesn’t affect the overall real estate market, but it does in more dense populated areas like New York and San Francisco. This pushes residences in these cities to pay more for living space and pushes up rent. These Chinese purchases make up a small amount of the overall sales in the United States. This is a disproportion of their money in high end properties according to the NT Times. They have bought one in every fourteen homes in the $1million plus range in New York. They are also buying land in the Antelope Valley. There are real estate agencies and marketing firms promoting fee simple properties in the Antelope Valley. Land has no maintenance needs so the buyer can sit and wait and just pay the property taxes. Larger condo’s need maintenance, HOA fees and security. The Chinese government doesn’t allow long term ownership of property in China. It is usually for a period of years, so property can’t be passed on to children. Additionally, in China land has to be development. This is partly why there are ghost cities in China, since the land was bought but requires development in a period of time in order to retain the property. This is why land within the path of growth that can be pass onto offspring is so enticing. The Chinese stock market and government cannot be trusted to provide security in an investment. This new overseas investment is helping property values in Lancaster and Palmdale especially closer in property to development.

Los Angeles County Approved Plan Centennial Plan but Little Development

Tejon Ranch Co.which is traded on the New York Stock Exchanged (NYSE:TRC) reported last year that the Centennial Development plan was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, by a 4-0 vote. The meeting last year was a full house in Lancaster with standing room only and at least 50 people expressing their opinions. Almost immediately after the discourse the Board of Supervisors approved the plan unanimously. The centennial plan will initially encompass 23,000 homes over time with their own fire department, medical services and environmentally friendly community. On paper it looks great and will look to be a real nice place to live as it will include hiking trails and involve a great view of the mountains just east of the grapevine. This Tejon Ranch Co.'s master planned community called Centennial is included in the Antelope Valley Area Plan as part of the Economic Opportunity Area where future development would be directed for Los Angeles County. If you have been to LA County it looks like most of LA was poorly planned to begin with. This plan appears to have promise, but no development or digging has taken place just yet. Tejon Ranch Co. has three plans according to their website. One being Centennial, another is called Grapevine and the third is Tejon Mountain Development. Grapevine will be located at the base of the foothills in the San Joaquin Valley portion of the ranch near the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center. This is near the huge IKEA warehouse. They intend to have a large community as part of the overall plan. The Tejon Mountain Village will be a community of homes largely undisturbed by mankind and it looks to be a small set up of nice homes overlooking the mountain range with access to Hwy 5 not far away, or just an hour from LA central. The website says Tejon Mountain Village will be a new conservation based retreat designed to live in harmony with nature, and continue the legacy of this storied place for future generations. Well there has been a lot of talk and discourse, but if it is all approved then lets get this nice new communities started. This can only improve the western part of Antelope Valley.

Northrop Grumman’s New Bomber Gets Budget Approval, Good News for Palmdale

The Air Force said indicated it chose Northrop Grumman Corp., maker of the B-2 stealth bomber which was previously built in Palmdale Ca. Now Northrop Grumman will to build the next-generation bomber, which is highly classified. The cost is projected to be $80 billion to replace the aging bomber fleet. It may also be able to fly without a pilot aboard. It is a bid announcement for the Pentagon as they are planning to modernize their nuclear force, submarines, and long range bombers which is dubbed the B-3. The total budget is $348 billion over 10 years and other says it will be $1 Trillion in 30 years. Previously, Northrop Grumman said it could create 1,500 new jobs in Palmdale under the bomber contract. These new jobs should move the needle in the Palmdale housing market as new high tech engineers will be needed for this project as well as hundreds of admin support staff.

Los Angeles Orders Quake Retrofit for Many Older Buildings

This is not necessarily regarding land, but it projects that capital in Los Angeles County will focus on developed Real Estate. Recent Associated Press Article Thousands of older wood and concrete apartment buildings vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake would get costly upgrades under sweeping retrofitting rules passed Friday by the Los Angeles City Council. The mandate would affect as many as 13,500 so-called soft-first-story buildings, which are typically wood-frame structures with large spaces such as parking lots on the ground floor. As many as 1,500 brittle concrete buildings would also require upgrades. The measure passed on a 12-0 vote. "There's no question that we're going to have an earthquake. The question is, when?" Councilman Gil Cedillo said. "In here we've laid out the groundwork for the seismic retrofitting that needs to be done." Before the vote, representatives for residential landlords and commercial building owners signaled their approval of the plan — while expressing concerns about potential costs. City leaders will now have to agree on how the estimated $5,000-per-unit retrofitting would be split between tenants and landlords. The law currently allows owners to increase rents up to $75 per month to pay for a required earthquake retrofit, but both sides say such a hike is too steep. One proposal is to divide the costs 50-50 and cap possible monthly rent increases at $38. To help pay for the upgrades, apartment groups are looking for certain financial support, such as breaks on property and state income taxes and business license and building permit fees for owners who retrofit. The proposed quake retrofitting mandate is part of an effort by Mayor Eric Garcetti to make the city resilient to major earthquakes. His plan released in December focuses on rapidly identifying and retrofitting at-risk residential and commercial buildings, fortifying major water systems that would be severed by a huge quake and keeping telecommunications systems operating. The goal of the mayor's broad plan is to keep the region sufficiently functional to avoid a long-term economic collapse despite what seismologists say is an inevitable jolt on the order of a magnitude-7.8 quake caused by a 200-mile-long rupture of the mighty San Andreas Fault. Wood apartments will be given seven years to complete construction once an owner is ordered by the Department of Building and Safety to retrofit the building. Owners of brittle concrete buildings will have 25 years to do the work. Estimates for upgrades for soft-first-story structures range from $60,000 to $130,000 per apartment building. Taller concrete buildings can cost millions of dollars to strengthen. Studies estimate that a massive earthquake in the Los Angeles area could kill up to 18,000 people and cause some $250 billion in damage. Sixteen people were killed in the collapse of a soft-first-story building during the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake. The magnitude-6.7 jolt was the last significant seismic disaster in the Los Angeles region. U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones, the mayor's earthquake science adviser who was a consultant for the council, was on hand for the vote. She pushed for passage of the plan, saying lives would be saved. "It's not every day we have the opportunity to save lives," Council President Herb Wesson said after the vote. "Today we had that opportunity."

California is Committed to get 50% of its Power from Renewable Energy by 2030

Post in part from an AP article in Los Angeles Gov. Jerry Brown has committed the state to use renewable energy for half its electricity and to upgrade current buildings to double their efficiency by 2030. The Governor even tried to get the state to drop petroleum use by 50% by 2030, but that was rebuffed. It looks like most cars will be electric in the next 15 years. But some critics say this will be costly to the consumer. Oil is easily accessible and abundant and in use throughout the world. Moving over to renewable energy may take time and cost more for each consumer and businesses. The cost to produce food, energy, and transport it with half of that energy coming from renewable will make product cost more. It appears politicians and environmentalists with the implication that climate change will kill us all don’t think things through. Novel ideas are not always workable ideas. According to the associated press article the details of this plan will be up to the state's Air Resources Board, Energy Commission and Public Utilities Commission. These boards are led mostly by gubernatorial appointees and have broad influence over economic life. California is primarily a natural gas state. Most of the energy that produces electricity in California comes from natural gas with additional from nuclear energy, hydroelectric, and a little coal. The cost to transition to solar, wind and biomass will have to be passed onto the consumers. This will affect the least able to afford it as well. This law will also push for energy efficient buildings and require and expansion of charging stations. It will mean more support for renewable energy facilities in Antelope Valley. These solar farms are expanding now, but more and more will like get approval. The solar farms are expanding in the city limits but up until now Los Angeles County land has not given the green light to install new solar. There is a lot of solar on LA County land, but the permit process is much slower than solar on city land. Maybe this will change LA County land owners prospects as the Gov and Legislators approve it.