After the Eaton fireplace tore via Altadena final month, residents of the traditionally Black Los Angeles neighborhood – a lot of whom had bought their houses a long time earlier – started placing up indicators declaring: “Altadena is just not on the market.”
Nonetheless, it seems that the primary burned-down property put up on the market is in escrow, simply over every week after the fireplace reached containment. The sale is predicted to shut Friday, says Brock Harris, an actual property agent, who provides that he’s obtained “numerous calls from folks additionally seeking to promote”.
The 9,109-sq ft lot on West Calaveras Road, which was listed for $449,000, obtained dozens of calls from potential patrons and went to a profitable money bid $100,000 above asking value, in line with LAist.
“The property is being offered as land solely,” the itemizing reads. “The house was destroyed within the latest Eaton Fireplace. Nice alternative to construct on a generous-sized lot.”
The Eaton fireplace, which destroyed greater than 9,400 constructions, killed not less than 17 folks, a lot of whom had been reluctant to flee houses that had been of their households for generations. Practically half of the Black households in Altadena had been destroyed or majorly broken, in line with researchers on the College of California, Los Angeles. Earlier than the fireplace, the Black homeownership fee in Altadena was almost double the nationwide fee, at 81.5%.
“What’s vital is that houses get rebuilt,” Harris advised LAist. “The worst factor can be if a 3rd of the tons by no means get rebuilt in any respect for many years.”
He added that the earlier proprietor of the lot, who paid $960,000 for the two-bed, two-bath dwelling in 2023, “didn’t wish to tackle the big venture of rebuilding the house”, though he famous that others in Altadena shouldn’t really feel rushed to promote.
“Nobody ought to be taken benefit of, nobody ought to panic promote and nobody ought to promote under market,” he mentioned.
However many within the Altadena group fear gross sales of properties after the Eaton fireplace will result in gentrification within the traditionally various neighborhood.
“All people desires to return again to this group. They’re pushing to not get purchased out,” Jose Velazquez, whose dwelling survived the fireplace, mentioned. “Altadena is just not on the market.”
Donny Kincey, who misplaced his dwelling within the fireplace, added: “I wish to see what may be executed to maintain these houses with Black households to protect our legacy in Altadena.”
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