John G. Ellis, MAI, CRE, FRICS

John G. Ellis, MAI, CRE, FRICS is an Executive Vice President for CBRE's Valuation & Advisory Services (VAS). He has provided real estate valuation and consulting services in Southern California for more than 40 years.

Mr. Ellis is an instructor of appraisal courses and a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences. He is also an author whose work has been published by the Appraisal Institute and in magazines and professional journals.

He has qualified as an expert witness and has provided expert testimony throughout California on assignments related to eminent domain, allegations of damage, fair market rent, ad valorum tax burdens, marital dissolutions, partial interest and partnership ownership interests, and appraisal review. He has testified in more than 30 trials in federal and superior courts, a variety of appeal board and arbitration hearings, and more than 200 depositions. He has also been retained as an arbitrator and as a court-appointed expert. John serves a client base that includes lending institutions, public agencies, corporate and individual property owners, and the legal profession.

He has appraised office buildings (including medical office buildings), shopping centers, industrial buildings, apartment and condominium complexes (including affordable housing projects), subdivisions, mobile home parks, hotels, motels, restaurants, healthcare properties, religious facilities, bowling alleys, golf courses, amusement parks, horse racing parks, auto dealerships, gas stations, carwashes, motion picture and performing arts theaters, cold storage and food processing facilities, parking structures, transit-oriented development projects, shipping terminals and other types of waterfront property, industrial, commercial and residential acreage, agricultural land, mountainous and hillside acreage, utility and transportation corridors (in fee and as easements), designated open space, and single-family residences including hillside and beachfront homes and major estates.

Education

• B.A., Business/Economics, University of California, Los Angeles
• Certified by the Appraisal Institute’s program of continuing education for its designated members

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

• Member: Appraisal Institute (more than 20 years of volunteer work on boards and committees of the Appraisal Institute; past president of the Southern California Chapter of the Appraisal Institute; recognized as “Volunteer of Distinction” for Region VII in 2013; recipient of the Bert L. Thornton Lifetime Professional Service Award in 2018; current member of The Appraisal Journal Editorial Board)
• Member: The Counselors of Real Estate
• Fellow: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• Member: International Right of Way Association
• Licensed: California Certified General Real Estate Appraiser

Published Texts and Articles

• “Office Markets are Preparing for the New Normal,” (National Real Estate Investor, July 2020).
• “Lease Renewal–The Periodic Setting of Market Rent in a Long-Term Lease,” in Applications in Litigation Valuation: A Pragmatist’s Guide (Chicago: Appraisal Institute, 2012).
• “Los Angeles Industrial Market Highlights,” Western Real Estate Business, October 2008.
• “Los Angeles Apartment Trends,” Western Real Estate Business, November 2007.
• “Can Downtown Support Another High-Rise?” Real Estate Southern California, March 2007.
• “The Special Nature of Property Tax Appraisals” (co-authored with Kathy Spletter and Cris K. O’Neall), Institute for Professionals in Taxation, June 2006.

Expert Testimony

Mr. Ellis is qualified as an expert witness in real estate valuation matters and has testified before:

• Superior Courts within the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern, and Imperial; and within the Third Judicial District of Alaska
• United States District Court
• United States Bankruptcy Courts: Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of California
• Tax Appeal Boards: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Contra Costa counties
• Arbitration testimony at hearings in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Sacramento counties
• Rent Control Boards: cities of Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Carson (MRRB)

He has also been appointed by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County on several occasions to assist in reconciling the disparate opinions of opposing, privately retained valuation experts.

Seminar Presentations and Speaking Engagements

• Hybrid Work Impacts on the Office Markets in Southern California (Counselors of Real Estate and Certified Commercial May 23, 2023)
• Appraisal Issues – Does a Shrinking Litigation Appraiser Pool Impair Just Compensation for Owner and Agency? (CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, March 16, 2023)
• Real Estate Economic Trends (IRWA Chapter 67, Orange County, January 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, September 2010)
• Environmental Contamination Issues in Eminent Domain Valuations (SCCAI, 55th Annual Litigation Seminar, November 3, 2022)
• Valuation of Easements (IRWA Chapter 1, Los Angeles, 30th Annual Valuation Seminar, May 24, 2022)
• Southern California Real Estate Market Trends (Counselors of Real Estate, February 2, 2022)
• The Impact of the Pandemic on Property Values – Real Life Examples and Practical Knowledge (CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, February 11, 2021)
• Severance Damages and Project Benefits in Transit Projects (IRWA Chapter 1, Los Angeles, February 25, 2020)
• Chairman/Moderator of the Annual Litigation Seminar of the Southern California Chapter of the Appraisal Institute (2019, 2017, 2013, 2005, and 1999)
• Real Estate and the Economy – Are We Still on Track? (IRWA Chapter 1, January 2019)
• Los Angeles County Economic and Market Trends (IRWA Chapter 1, February 2019)
• Severance Damages – Fact or Fantasy (SCCAI, 51st Annual Litigation Seminar, Los Angeles, November 1, 2018)
• The Cost Approach and All That Jazz (IPT 42nd Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, June 2018)
• Building a Base for Value: Opinions and Testimony Supported by Multiple Experts (SCCAI, 50th Annual Litigation Seminar, Arcadia, November 9, 2017)
• The Project Influence Rule (Nossaman LLP 2017 Eminent Domain Seminar, March 2, 2017)
• Why the Project Design and Plans Matter (CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, February 10, 2017)
• Expanding the Subway in the CBD: Valuation Issues (IRWA Chapter 1, Annual Valuation Seminar, April 26, 2016)
• Cap and Discount Rates for Possessory Interest and Other Special Situations (2016 IAA0-LA Spring Appraisal Seminar, April 13, 2016)
• Inland Empire Market Trends (IRWA Chapter 57, January 2015, February 2012)
• Subdivision Analysis in Southern California: Methodology and Discount Rates (SCCAI, Subdivision Land Seminar, August 21, 2014)
• Examination of Appraisal Practices in Tax Appeal Hearings (SCCAI, 46th Annual Litigation Seminar, Los Angeles, November 15, 2013)
• Current Issues in Real Estate Appraisals (Lorman Education Services, live audio conference, March 8, 2012)
• Real Estate Market Trends (SCCAI Market Trends Seminar, Los Angeles, January 24, 2013)
• Underwriting Sustainable Commercial Properties (2011 National Association of Realtors Conference, November 12, 2011)
• Commercial Property Valuation Issues and Trends (2011 IAAO-LA Spring Appraisal Seminar, April 6, 2011)
• The Assessment Appeals Process: Practical Perspectives (SCCAI, 43rd Annual Litigation Seminar, November 17, 2010)
• Legal Issues in Appraisals: What and When to Ask the Attorney (IRWA Right of Way and the Law Seminar, June 22, 2010)
• Current Issues in the Economy and Residential and Commercial Real Estate (The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, May 24, 2010)
• Current Issues in the Economy, Commercial Real Estate, and Real Estate Appraisals (MCLE-approved presentation, April 15, 2010)
• The Role of the Appraiser in Construction Defect Litigation (MCLE-approved presentations, February 10 and March 4, 2010)
• Real Estate Values: Have We Hit Bottom Yet? (IRWA Chapter 1, Los Angeles, 2009 Annual Fall Seminar, October 20, 2009)
• Impact of Use Restrictions in Market Value and Market Rent Appraisals (SCCAI, Special Purpose Properties Seminar, October 20, 2009)
• Rent Re-Setting Via Litigation (Integra Academy, September 14, 2009)
• Industrial Property Trends: Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire (SCCAI, 15th Annual Summer Conference, July 16, 2009)
• Current Issues in the Economy, Commercial Real Estate, and Real Estate Appraisals (District 7 of California Department of Transportation, March 18, 2009)
• Industrial Property Trends: Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire (SCCAI, 14th Annual Summer Conference, July 31, 2008)
• California School Districts’ Property and Acquisition and Disposition Update (IRWA Chapter 1, Annual Valuation Conference, April 22, 2008)
• A Market in Flux: Los Angeles and Orange Counties Retail Properties (Urban Land Institute Conference, Reinventing Retail, February 14, 2008)
• California Property in a Global Economy (Global Property Valuation Excellence, Appraisal Institute/RICS Americas Joint Valuation Conference, September 25, 2007)
• Considering the Contributory Value of Interim Use Improvements (SCCAI, Special Purpose Properties Seminar, May 25, 2007)
• Partial Takings in Multi-Property Appraisal Assignments (IRWA Chapter 1, Annual Valuation Conference, April 26, 2005)
• Appraiser’s Role in Redevelopment (Appraisal Institute, 1998)
• Deposition and Cross-Examination Skills (IRWA, April 1997)
• Entertainment Properties (Moderator, 1997)
• Land Valuation in Southern California (SCCAI, 1996)