VBJ March 2020

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THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL 24 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com March 2020 Aaaand, They’re Off! REAL ESTATE by by Gene Steve Wunderlich Fillingim Don’t know if you noticed ho media headlines for the first half of January trumpeted the onslaught of buyers heralding a jump on the spring buying season. Realtor.com told us: “Early-bird home buyers turn January into the new April” while MSNBC announced “Competition for housing is so high, the spring market is starting now”. But by mid-January Housing wire reported that “The Housing Market is off to a slow start in January” and Financial Samurai cautioned “It’s Time to Start Worrying About the Housing Market Again”. Not to be outdone, CNN just came out with “Coronavirus Threat Set to Trigger a Massive U.S. Housing Market Crash”. It’s not even mid-February and I’m already exhausted for the year. It’s less stressful to follow the election! So, ignoring the media crisis du jour, how did 2020 actually start in Southwest California? About as expected – no surprises, no rush, no crash. January is always a slow month and this year was no different. After a decent December that capped off a pretty good 2019 season, pending sales were down coming into the month so all things considered. we pretty much knew what was going to happen. And it did, but maybe not as bad as it could have. Sure that closed sales were down 21% from December (860 / 679) but they were 16% better than January 2019 (583), so that’s not bad. And pending sales coming into February are up 20% (672 / 843), so subtract two holidays, add a leap day, multiply by low interest rates carry the seven, = February should be even better. What about prices, you ask? More good news. January median price ticked up 2% from December ($385,900 / $395,188) and improved 6% over last January ($370,706). That’s good news for home sellers, but not so good if you’re trying to buy– especially if you’re a firsttime home buyer. Not only that but there’s way fewer options to choose from right now. We’ve had eight straight months of inventory declines dropping us 6% month-overmonth (1,720 / 1,623) and down a whopping 30% from last January (2,317). Inventory is at its lowest level since January 2018 and, after rising to 4+ months a few times in 2019, has now dropped to around 2monthsin most markets. As I’ve cautioned before, some percentage of sales and inventory can be attributed to increased new home construction across our region, and we are appreciative of the efforts our cities and county are making to address the housing crisis. But that’s still a grim inventory number coming into the year. If we’re going to have a robust buying season, it’s imperative we add to that listing inventory because you can’t sell what you don’t have. And right now we don’t have! Despite the Governor’s pledge to add 350,000 new dwelling units to the state every year, in 2019 the state actually produced fewer that it had in 2018 – down around 108,000 units. And projections from both the California Association of Realtors and the Building Industry Association are forecasting less than 1,000 additional homes built in 2020 – from 108,170 to 108,620. Not only a far cry from the Governor’s 350,000, but less than the 180,000 we need just to keep pace with growth. Probably a good thing people are leaving the state – take some of the pressure off. The good news is that aside from CNN’s threat of a crash (when was the last time they were actually right?), most prognosticators of any repute remain optimistic for housing in 2020. With economic indicators all still in positive territory and interest rates expected to remain near record lows for the year, there are few indicators of a recession, or even a correction, this year. C.A.R is forecasting modest gains in sales and price, while Core- Logic is even more bullish on the market this year than they were last, and they usually do a pretty good job. Let’s hope they’re right. Gene Wunderlich is Vice President, Government Affairs for Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors. If you have questions on the market, please contact me at GAD@srcar.org.
March 2020 THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com 25 The California Consumer Privacy Act – What’s in it for Me? On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect. Although the law is similar in some regards to the European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) the California law differs in one key aspect—it can potentially affect any company that does business in the Golden State. As a consumer and Californian, it is important that you know what rights you have under the law. For business owners, it is important to understand what is required to comply with the law, and whether you are required to do so. The intentions of the CCPA are relatively straightforward. The law provides California residents the right to: know what personal data is being collected about them, know whether their personal data is sold or is disclosed and to whom, say no to the sale of personal data, access their personal data, request a business delete any personal information about a consumer collected from that consumer, and to not be discriminated against for exercising their privacy rights. You may have seen pop-up notifications on websites that you visit informing you that the website collects your data and providing you with the ability to opt-out of this collection— these notifications are a direct result of compliance with the CCPA. Outside of the codified rights outlined above, many readers are probably asking themselves what this means for them. Perhaps the most prescient feature of the CCPA is the right to request that data be deleted. Sometimes called the right to be forgotten, this is something that privacy advocate groups, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have fought to have recognized for some time. This means that consumers can go a step beyond deleting their account if they no longer wish for a company to have identifying information about them, they can request that it be deleted. One major caveat to the law, however, is that is only applies to data collected about consumers from consumers themselves. Publicly available data, like property deeds, are still available for sale to advertisers. Another important feature of the CCPA is that it gives consumers the right to sue companies in the event of a data breach. Although most companies are less than thankful for another source of litigation; the threat of a lawsuit, or class action lawsuit, is a boon to consumers. Companies that must comply with the CCPA will take additional steps to secure consumer data to prevent legal action. Although these enumerated consumer rights seem relatively benign, business owners and HR managers across California are wondering whether they are required to comply with the CCPA, and what form that compliance will take. In short, the CCPA applies to any business, including any for-profit entity, that collects consumer’ personal data and which does business in California, and satisfies at least one of the following thresholds: has annual gross revenues in excess of 25 million dollars, buys or sells the personal information of 50,000 or more consumers or households, or earns more than half of its annual revenue from consumer’s personal information. If your business meets any of those criteria, the CCPA requires that organizations implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect consumer data. It is important that business do so, as each violation of the CCPA carries a fine up to $7,500. With any new regulation, it is important that consumers and business understand their rights and obligations. Those that would like further information on the legal aspects of the CCPA are advised to contact a legal professional. For more information on the technical aspects of the law, and what is required for an organization to be compliant, please contact an Information Technology professional. Mythos Technology is an IT consulting and management firm that provides Managed Technology Services including hosted cloud and compliance solutions. For more information, please visit www.mythostech.com or call (951) 813-2672. “ TECHNOLOGY by by Tristan Steve Collopy Fillingim Perhaps the most prescient feature of the CCPA is the right to request that data be deleted. Mike Lopez as Deputy Fire Chief CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 He has been a chief officer since 2008, serving as a member of Carlsbad Fire’s leadership team and overseeing Administrative/Support Services, Emergency Medical Services, Training, and Fire Prevention. Lopez earned an A.S. Degree in Fire Technology from Miramar Community College, a BS Degree in Occupational Studies from California State University, Long Beach, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University, and is a graduate of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Leadership Academy (West Point curriculum) and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire Service Executive Development Institute program. Fire Chief David Lantzer describes the benefits of gaining a deputy with such diverse experience, “Chief Lopez brings experiences to Murrieta that will help us grow to continue serving the community at the highest level. We’ve identified a tremendous need for a fire training center (there are none in Southwest Riverside County) and Mike’s experience with these types of projects in Carlsbad will be a great benefit to our community. Additionally, he brings the values and work ethic that is consistent with the hard-working men and women at Murrieta Fire & Rescue. We are blessed to have him.” This experience includes serving as honor guard, as a SWAT Medic, and a YMCA volunteer. Lopez is also a task force leader for FEMA USAR California Task Force 8 and a safety officer for a Type III San Diego All-Risk Urban Area Incident Management Team. Lopez has earned awards for meritorious service during the fire-storms in 2003, 2007 and the Poinsettia Fire in 2014. He led the design and construction of Carlsbad’s state of the art Public Safety Training Center and new Fire Station 3. Lopez looks forward to this next phase in his career, “It’s a tremendous honor to be joining the Murrieta Fire & Rescue. MFR is a remarkable and progressive place with highly skilled, dedicated professionals who serve a great community. I am excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with the men and women of this agency to continue the long-standing tradition of providing firstrate professional service to the residents of Murrieta.” In Murrieta, Lopez will oversee the department’s Emergency Operations programs, as well as Administration, Training, and Fleet Maintenance. “Our Fire Department has set a high standard of excellence and we are thrilled to find an experienced and passionate Deputy Chief that can hit the ground running in this fast-paced department,” says Murrieta City Manager Kim Summers. “Chief Lopez will bring a robust skillset and tremendous experience to this important role.”
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME 31 • NUMBER 3 • MARCH 20
Page 3 and 4: The New Menifee Police Department i
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Page 11 and 12: March 2020 The Evolution of Regener
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