One Year After LA Wildfires, Home Sales Are Up And Prices Are Down
According to new data from Realtor.com, the share of home sales in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena have increased by 50% or more, with prices falling as well.
One year ago, two major wildfires spread and became the second and third most destructive blazes in California’s history. The Palisades and Eaton fires ravaged Los Angeles County’s Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods.
The fires burned through more than 37,000 acres and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. More than 11,000 of those structures were homes.
According to analysis from Redfin, individuals in LA who decided to rebuild within the past year have dealt with multiple permitting and construction delays, with many others opting to move out of the destroyed neighborhoods.
This has led to a major increase in home sales, which has been partially driven by investor activity.
Between January and September 2025, the share of homes that sold in the Pacific Palisades increased 50% year-over-year and 58.4% in Altadena, the Realtor.com data showed.
Buyer activity is also on the rise with sale prices being around half of where they were one year ago. In the Pacific Palisades, the average sale price decreased from $3.7 million to $1.9 million. The average sale price in Altadena decreased from $1.35 million to $650,000.
These trends are actually due to the fact that there’s been an overall increase in sales of now-vacant lots due to the fires, according to Hanna Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.
Investors are seeing major opportunities in these areas and made their intentions known a few months after the fires. They’ve been rebuilding the area and acquiring lots in Malibu and Altadena.
Both Redfin and Realtor.com economists estimated that investors are buying about 30-40% of vacant lots throughout the areas.
“We’re definitely seeing money flowing in to buy developable lots because lots are available now,” Douglas Elliman agent Victor Currie said.
“Investors will likely need to be prepared for the carrying costs while they go through the massively backed-up permitting process.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
