News & Research - Paladin Realty Partners

Paladin U.S. Research – California Residential Rental Regulations

October 2, 2020

Regulations affecting residential rental properties in California are varied and complex. Several current and proposed statewide and local ordinances will affect Paladin’s apartment investments in Southern California and, like the regulations themselves, the results will be varied and complex. On the one hand, Paladin believes these regulatory requirements and risks create additional stress on smaller “mom and pop” owners of apartments who may be ill-prepared to deal with these rules. As a result, many of these owners may decide to exit the market, providing investment opportunities for sophisticated investors who have more expertise underwriting and navigating such regulatory complexities. On the other hand, such regulations may reduce the potential returns from existing investments. Paladin believes that careful underwriting of the risks, along with the solid execution of value-added business plans to mitigate the effects, will continue to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors. Additionally, asset pricing will eventually adjust to reflect the realities and limitations of any such regulations.

Paladin Realty Adds Camilo Otálora as Managing Director and Colombian Country Manager

July 6, 2020

Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, a boutique real estate private equity fund manager and operator focused on the Americas, announced today that it has hired Camilo Otálora as Managing Director and Colombian Country Manager. Mr. Otálora will be based in Paladin’s Bogotá office and serve on the region’s Investment Committee. A native of Colombia, Mr. Otálora has over 20 years of real estate investment, finance and development experience in Colombia, Central America and the USA. Prior to joining Paladin Realty, he was a partner at Boston Andes Capital, a private equity real estate investment, asset management and development firm with offices in Boston, Bogotá and Buenos Aires.

Paladin Realty Adds Senior Executive to Los Angeles Office to Lead U.S. Value-Added Apartment Business

June 1, 2020

Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, a boutique real estate private equity fund manager and operator focused on the Americas, announced today that it has hired George Pappas as Managing Director to lead the firm’s U.S. value-added investment business focused on renovating and repositioning Class B and C rental apartment properties in Southern California. He will be based in the firm’s Los Angeles headquarters and serve on its Investment Committee. For more than 35 years, Mr. Pappas has sponsored and managed investment vehicles that have acquired a range of income-producing real estate assets throughout Southern California, including over two dozen value-added apartment investments. He previously worked for a private equity investment firm led by former U.S. Treasury Secretary William E. Simon that acquired failed U.S. thrifts and savings and loans. In these prior roles, Mr. Pappas acted in a range of senior management functions, including in asset management and receivership capacities spanning virtually all types of real estate across a range of U.S. markets. In addition, he has served as an advisor to the U.S. SEC and bankruptcy courts on matters relating to complex, multi-use real estate assets. He previously founded Sunterra Golf, in partnership with American Golf Corporation co-founder Sandy Burns, and grew that company to more than $24 million in revenues and 200 employees, which was named as Crittenden Golf Magazine’s 2007 Management Company’s on the Rise.

Paladin Realty Pioneering the Development of Purpose-Built Rental Apartments in São Paulo, Brazil

May 4, 2020

Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, a leading real estate investment fund manager focused on Latin America, has announced a new programmatic joint venture to develop a portfolio of purpose-built rental apartment properties in São Paulo, Brazil. The venture has initially committed in excess of R$130 million to capitalize its first projects, with the intention of increasing the size of the program as more sites are identified. While more than 40% of households in São Paulo are believed to be renters, there are few purpose-built, institutional quality apartment buildings due to a historical lack of debt financing and other factors. As a result, the existing rental market is comprised largely of “mom and pop” landlords who may rent one or two condominiums, providing a compelling market opportunity for well capitalized institutional investors to build and operate a portfolio of purpose-built rental apartment buildings. With a population of over 20 million, São Paulo represents an ideal market to launch the venture’s strategy.

Paladin Realty Adds Ex-Hines Executive to its Brazilian Investment Team

January 14, 2020

Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, a leading real estate investment fund manager focused on Latin America, announced today that it has hired Julian Villacorta as Managing Director to be based in its São Paulo, Brazil office. Mr. Villacorta has more than 25 years of experience executing important real estate projects in Brazil. Before joining Paladin, he was Managing Director and Senior Project Officer at Hines, responsible for high-profile, multi-billion dollar projects in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Prior to Hines, he was New Business Director at Tishman Speyer, focused on acquisitions and dispositions. Mr. Villacorta has also worked as the Country Head at Cargill Value Investment, and in the Brazilian offices of Cushman & Wakefield, Jones Lang Lasalle and CBRE.

International Finance Corporation: Green Buildings Finance on the Rise: Investing in Mexico

December 4, 2019

Santiago Gil, Managing Director and Mexico country head at Paladin Realty, was recently featured in a video produced by the International Finance Corporation “IFC”, highlighting the rise of finance for “green building” in Mexico.

International Finance Corporation VIDEO

Paladin Realty Announces New Joint Venture with Ambientti to Develop Low and Middle-Income Housing in Bogota

September 3, 2019

Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, a leading real estate investment fund manager focused on Latin America, announced a homebuilding joint venture with local partner, Ambientti S.A. The joint venture will focus on providing low and middle-income housing in and around Bogota. Ambientti is a vertically integrated developer founded in 1999 with a track record of nearly 40 projects totaling approximately 6,000 housing units.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with Ambientti, a well-established and highly regarded developer in Colombia,” said Alejandro (Alex) Krell, Managing Director and Head of the Andean region at Paladin Realty. “We look forward to launching our first project before year-end and believe it will be the first of many”.

Paladin Realty Certifies Homebuilding Projects in Brazil and Peru with IFC’s Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (“EDGE”) Certification

July 29, 2019

Paladin Realty announced today it has received the International Finance Corporations “EDGE” certifications for two more of its homebuilding projects in Latin America. The first project, Bosque da Serra, is a 964-unit low-income development in São Paulo which has certified savings of 21% in energy, 26% in water and 71% less embodied energy in materials compared to the average local project. The second project certified is a 429-unit middle-income development in Lima. The project has certified savings of 28% in energy, 48% in water, and embodied energy savings of between 47% to 64% compared to the average local comparable project.

Jim Worms, Paladin’s CEO, said, “as we continue to push for greener construction and more sustainable building practices, we are grateful to be recognized by the IFC for these accomplishments. The IFC has created a user-friendly, cost effective green benchmarking tool that we intend to utilize as much as possible in our residential development business in Latin America”.

Paladin Realty Launches “CORE”, a Mixed-Use Development in São Paulo, Brazil, Sells 70% of Units in Opening Week

April 9, 2019

Paladin Realty Partners, LLC, a leading real estate investment fund manager focused on Latin America, announced today the launch of its latest mixed-use development, “CORE”, located in São Paulo’s upscale Pinheiros neighborhood. The 512-unit project is a mix of for-sale residential, hotel, and medical office space, anchored by a ground-floor medical clinic to be operated by Brazil’s leading healthcare operator. In its first week of sales, the project pre-sold 63% of its housing units and 85% of its medical office units. The hotel is expected to be launched in the coming weeks.

Paladin Realty is co-developing the project with YOU, Inc., a long-time residential development partner of Paladin Realty, and Toledo Ferrari, a prominent construction and development firm. The nearly one-acre site enjoys an excellent location in a bustling, upper-income submarket of Brazil’s largest city, a short walk to the Oscar Freire metro station as well as one of São Paulo’s principal hospitals.

Latin America Research: 2019 Outlook – Macro & Property Trends

January 9, 2019

Latin America’s leading economies of Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile continue to benefit from a convergence of long-term demographic, economic and political trends that are expected to support sustainable growth over the next several years. These positive long-term trends include attractive demographics, a growing middle-class, greater mortgage availability and large housing deficits, all factors which should continue to result in resilient demand for housing and the development of other real estate products. Political risk has receded in the region as newly elected market-friendly leaders prevail in Brazil, Colombia and Peru; some uncertainty remains in Mexico with questionable initial policies of its new President. Brazil’s economic and political outlook improved sharply in 2018 with the election of a pro-business President, who is already pursing a reform agenda. GDP is expected to grow in the 2%+ range in 2019 and beyond. Mexico and the three leading countries of the Andean region (Colombia, Peru and Chile) are each poised to grow 2-4% in 2019 and beyond, with economies increasingly driven by domestic consumption and intraregional trade. In Mexico, while the conclusion of NAFTA renegotiations in 2018 removed some uncertainty, the new President’s early actions have given mixed messages at best and Paladin remains cautious on Mexico until the new President’s policies become more clear and constructive.