Altadena and the Palisades

REAL ESTATE • On the Market

A recent LA Times article about the sale of burned lots in Altadena and the Palisades notes that vacant properties are moving faster in Altadena, with 145 burned lots sold since the January fires and dozens more in escrow, as compared to about 60 that have sold thus far in the Palisades. Per the LAT:

Despite the surge of lots hitting the market, demand has been steady, and lots are selling fast. Through the first four months of the year, the median property in Altadena spent 19 days on the market compared with 35 days over the same stretch last year, according to Redfin.

Lots have sold for as little as $330,000 and as much as $1.865 million, with most going for somewhere between $500,000 and $700,000. The first lot to hit the market listed for $449,000 and sold for $100,000 over the asking price in an all-cash deal — though with the influx in inventory since then, buyers are typically paying just the full asking price, not more.

Listings for Altadena on Zillow show that some sellers are indeed aiming high, with one cleared lot on 0.64 acres (above) asking $3M, and another cleared lot on 0.68 acres at the base of the foothills asking $1.85M. As for the buyers? Mostly developers. “Everybody in Altadena thought they were going to rebuild, but depending on their situation, a lot of the time it just doesn’t make sense,” Altadena resident and real estate agent Ann Marie Ahern told the Times. “We wanted to keep things local, but unfortunately, Altadena is for sale.”