After the Eaton fire tore through Altadena last month, residents of the historically Black Los Angeles neighborhood – many of whom had purchased their homes decades earlier – began putting up signs declaring: “Altadena is not for sale.”
However, it appears that the first burned-down property put up for sale is in escrow, just over a week after the fire reached containment. The sale is expected to close Friday, says Brock Harris, a real estate agent, who adds that he’s received “lots of calls from people also looking to sell”.
The 9,109-sq ft lot on West Calaveras Street, which was listed for $449,000, received dozens of calls from prospective buyers and went to a winning cash bid $100,000 above asking price, according to LAist.
“The property is being sold as land only,” the listing reads. “The home was destroyed in the recent Eaton Fire. Great opportunity to build on a generous-sized lot.”
The Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 9,400 structures, killed at least 17 people, many of whom were reluctant to flee homes that had been in their families for generations. Nearly half of the Black households in Altadena were destroyed or majorly damaged, according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. Before the fire, the Black homeownership rate in Altadena was nearly double the national rate, at 81.5%.
“What’s important is that homes get rebuilt,” Harris told LAist. “The worst thing would be if a third of the lots never get rebuilt at all for decades.”
He added that the previous owner of the lot, who paid $960,000 for the two-bed, two-bath home in 2023, “didn’t want to take on the enormous project of rebuilding the home”, although he noted that others in Altadena shouldn’t feel rushed to sell.
“No one should be taken advantage of, no one should panic sell and no one should sell below market,” he said.
But many in the Altadena community worry sales of properties after the Eaton fire will lead to gentrification in the historically diverse neighborhood.
“Everybody wants to come back to this community. They’re pushing to not get bought out,” Jose Velazquez, whose home survived the fire, said. “Altadena is not for sale.”
Donny Kincey, who lost his home in the fire, added: “I want to see what can be done to keep those homes with Black families to preserve our legacy in Altadena.”
English (US)