John DeCero doesn’t worry about technology—the Great Disruptor in seemingly all industries— disrupting his business: banking. The OC resident runs Mechanics Bank, half the time from its Walnut Creek HQ, where he oversees a 112-year-old community lender with $6B assets, 35 branches and 1,000-plus employees. “We invest in technology, don’t get me wrong,” the busy banker told me.
“We’re investing in conferencing technology. I talked to all my leadership team this morning, face-to-face, none of us in the same place.” But he’s not a tech evangelist. “We had a technology advantage in the early years of California Republic”—Irvine based lender DeCero and friends started at the cusp of the recession and sold in 2016 at a handsome profit to Mechanics. “But these days I wonder who can maintain that (tech advantage). It’s a commodity. You can buy it.”
Point being? “We hire good bankers—but I really look for people with communication skills, personality, human skills. That’s in short supply. In a homogenous world, people with those skills are the ones you need to hire to succeed.”
Case in point: GoPro once had a technology edge … a coolness factor. Shares of the San Mateo maker of wearable cameras touched $100. Late 2014. Hard to hold a lead in tech. GoPro shares closed at $6 this week. Founder Nick Woodman is looking for a buyer …
And … Activision Blizzard announced it will shutter its sole U.S. distribution center and lay off the 50 workers at the Fresno plant. It’s a download world …
3,560 … homes for sale here to start the year—about a record low, according to economist/broker Steven Thomas’ “Reports on Housing.” Big part of the appreciation story here. “Move-up market is just not a thing anymore,” said Phil Immel, a 40-year industry vet and owner of Immel Team Luxury Real Estate, which sells homes mostly in Coastal OC. “Homeowners stay put, especially here, Immel explains. “They’re more nervous about the job market, real estate market, to trade up. And of course affordability.” Low active inventory helps explain those 99% occupancy rates at apartment complexes … and the record price Lennar just paid for Costa Mesa land to build pricey apartments for “renters by choice” (See page 1 story). “Even during the holidays, the slowest time of the year, I’m experiencing multiple offers within the first week of homes hitting the market,” said Lorynn Vossler of Realty ONE Group in Laguna Niguel. Immel had nine on a home he just sold in Corona in the $500,000 range. And now the tax bill and limits on interest and SALT deductions …“There’s headwinds. No doubt about it,” Immel said.
Baker’s dozen enough for Royce … Congressman Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, won’t seek a 14th term. “I want to focus fully on the urgent threats facing our nation,” Royce said in a statement on his website. He’s in the sixth year of chairing the House Foreign Affairs Committee. That’s a chairmanship and committee that Royce wears well. Always big picture, an internationalist. And a civil pol in uncivil times …
Sotheby’s trade? Sources tell us the owners of the San Diego Sotheby’s franchise, Pacific Sotheby’s, are buyers—of HOM Sotheby’s, the OC franchises in Newport, Laguna, San Clemente and some prime desert territories. … Steve Games, co-founder of California Prudential Realty, has been chairman of Pacific Sotheby’s since 2012; former Chicago Board options trader Mike Shapiro has been chairman and majority owner of the HOM Sotheby’s franchises since 2008. NY auction house Sotheby’s started its real estate division in the ’70s, ultimately selling franchises in luxury markets around the world …
Blaze … Foothill Ranch, businessman-philanthropist Gideon Bernstein and his wife, Jeanne, have set up a memorial fund in memory of their 19-year-old son, Blaze. The body of the Univ. of Pennsylvania student found Tuesday near Borego Park, Lake Forest. Hundreds attended a vigil last Wednesday and spent the week before helping Gideon and Jeanne search for Blaze, missing since Jan. 2. Sheriff’s investigators say Blaze was murdered. The fund: www.jcfoc.org.
