**UCLA Study: Measure ULA Reduces Commercial Sales by Up to 50%**
Two years after the implementation of Measure ULA—commonly dubbed the “mansion tax”—a new report from UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies reveals that commercial property sales in Los Angeles have dropped by as much as 50%.
The study, titled “The Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA,” was authored by Michael Manville and Mott Smith. It highlights not only the steep decline in commercial sales, but also a 50% decrease in the likelihood that a property transaction will exceed Measure ULA’s $5 million price threshold.
“The hardest-hit properties are not luxury homes, but multifamily, commercial, and industrial buildings—the very types we need to support housing production and job growth,” Smith told the Los Angeles Times.
The report underscores two major implications of this commercial slowdown. First, because commercial properties frequently command higher sale prices than single-family homes, even a modest decline in these transactions leads to a significant loss in tax revenue for the city. Second, commercial property sales often act as a catalyst for new multifamily housing developments—an essential component in addressing Los Angeles’ ongoing housing crisis.
The data suggests that while Measure ULA aimed to generate revenue for housing and homelessness services, its broader effects may be hindering the very solutions it was intended to support.
