Foreign Property News | Posted by Si Thu Aung
Hugo Dalinger knew he couldn’t go back. Not after a wall of flames swallowed his bright-white Altadena home during the January firestorm that took out most of his town.
But he needed money to start over, so he reached out to a friend and veteran real estate agent for help.
Ramiro Rivas was skeptical. He grew up around Altadena and has sold hundreds of properties in 21 years - but a fire-scarred lot was new.
He put the 10,500 square-foot ash-filled parcel up for sale on Feb. 3, pitching it as an “incredible canvas for a custom-built estate.”
He was surprised how fast offers came in.
In nine days, Rivas closed Altadena’s first post-fire residential land sale. The Dalingers now had $603,000 for a down payment on a smaller home in nearby Pasadena. Soon after, Rivas listed more lots.
“This was very traumatic to me,” said Dalinger, a doctor in his 70s who helps care for several of 12 grandchildren. “I couldn’t see myself rebuilding … there would be too many bad memorie.
There has been a frenetic rush to buy and sell scorched lots since wildfires leveled thousands of homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades two months ago, surprising longtime local real estate agents and experts.
The pace, and some of the price tags, have exceeded expectations - even in one of the country’s hottest housing markets. The damage hasn’t deterred sales; it has accelerated them.
For every available lot, one agent said there are at least 10 interested buyers - offers mostly from developers and builders.
large-scale developers peppering owners with texts, calls and letters taped to their properties offering to buy the land in cash.
Nearly all lots sold have exceeded their asking prices.
Ref: ‘Cash offers only’: After L.A. fires, scorched lots are selling fast
