SoldBroker Activity · Entry № 21

Has Downtown Los Angeles Lost Half Its Value?

Could thousands of owners be paying property taxes based on values that no longer exist? 

PublishedJune 2026
StatusSold · May 21, 2026
DatelineThe Tape · Downtown Los Angeles
735 S Figueroa St hero photo
FIG. 01, 735 S Figueroa St, Downtown Los Angeles. Listing photo via JLL.
Four takeaways
  1. FIGat7th sold for $68.5 million, while the County assessed it at roughly $141 million. That's a $72.7 million gap.  A 7.15% CAP  with a 10% vacancy looks good if the new operator can get to 98% occupancy and keep rents at market.
  2. Buying real estate is easy.   Buying at the right time isn't.  There is this idea that you buy Real Estate and you can beome wealthy.  I think you can lose a lot of money in Real Estate with one bad deal.  No one wakes up and says, "I can't wait to lose a lot of money on this purchase."  They say "It will be worth a lot more in 10 years."   Over a decade later and this one lost more than 50% of its value.
  3. So Is Los Angeles sitting on billions of dollars of inflated commercial property assessments?FIGat7th alone sold for $72.7 million below its assessed value. If this isn't an isolated transaction... How many office buildings are over-assessed? How many retail centers? How many apartment buildings? Could thousands of owners be paying property taxes based on values that no longer exist?
  4. Is this the Bottom of Downtown LA?  Would you buy this asset at $207/SF?
Deal Stats · 735 S Figueroa St
Sale Price
$68,500,000
closed May 21, 2026
Price / SF
$207
330,784 gross SF
CAP Rate
7.15%
at close, CoStar source
Vacancy (Subject)
10.6%
vs. 5.8% market
Year Built
1986
renovated 2012
Lot SF
365,033
8.38 acres, 3 APNs
Parking
500 stalls
covered + surface
ULA Tax
$3,767,500
Measure ULA, above threshold
Hold Period
151 months
Brookfield, ~12.5 years
Transfer Tax
$75,350
recorded May 21, 2026
Seller
Brookfield Properties
BOP FIGat7th LLC
Buyer
JH Real Estate Partners
7th & Fig Retail XXIII LLC

Operator Take

Most people will look at this sale and conclude that Downtown Los Angeles is struggling.

I see something different.

I see a market telling us that price and assessed value have become disconnected.

FIGat7th sold for $68.5 million, while the County assessed it at roughly $141 million. If this isn't an isolated transaction, thousands of commercial property owners may be paying taxes based on values that no longer exist.

Whether you believe Downtown recovers or continues to decline, one thing is certain: market values have changed much faster than property tax assessments.

This sale isn't just a story about Downtown.

It's a reminder for every commercial property owner to ask one question:

Is my property still being taxed based on today's market or yesterday's?

I track every commercial real estate sale in Los Angeles so you don't have to.

If you found this useful, share it.

OMs: David@AtlasBrief.LA

Coming Soon

  1. Atlas Home Pro — Trusted maintenance, capital improvements, and rebuild services for California property owners. AtlasHomePro.com (2027)
  2. Atlas Tax Dispute — Helping California property owners reduce their property tax assessments.
    https://atlasbrief.la/tax-appeals
  3. Atlas Survival Guide — A growing library of practical playbooks for California property owners covering operations, taxes, insurance, legislation, financing, and more.
  4. Atlas Palisades Rebuild Guide — A free resource connecting Pacific Palisades owners with builders, architects, engineers, subcontractors, suppliers, and rebuilding resources.

Brokers
Listing Broker
Geoff Tranchina
JLL
Written from the field

David Safai, operator, developer, GC.

Atlas Home Builders, Inc. is a Los Angeles owner-operator and general contractor. If you are a broker with a listing you want an honest read on, send the OM and the T-12 to David@AtlasBrief.La.

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