“Million Dollar Listing” star Josh Altman predicts the Pacific Palisades won’t ever be the identical as a result of he doesn’t anticipate the vast majority of households will return.
In a brand new interview with Fox Information Digital, Altman defined how the Los Angeles fires have affected residents of the Southern California city and what the long run seems like.
He says his insurance coverage agent advised him that “90-plus percent of these people are heavily underinsured.”
Altman added, “I feel 65-70% of the individuals don’t return to the Palisades or Malibu. I can simply let you know from gauging all these calls that I’m getting the place individuals are asking me to ship them listings and discuss to them about totally different neighborhoods.
“I’ve gotten calls from many people who just don’t want to be in fire areas anymore,” he continued. “It’s important to notice there have been a number of fires. … Is lightning going to strike twice? It’s going to occur once more. … So, you already know, I feel it’s extra that most individuals simply not having the bandwidth to undergo a construct course of goes to be extra of a figuring out issue.
“I just don’t see people going back there. I see a whole new crowd without question. So, don’t get me wrong. The Palisades is and will continue to be one of the hottest areas in real estate, one of the safest long-term investments, one of the greatest places to live, location-wise, near the beach, near the water, but also, have an amazing town. It will all come back. It’s just going to be a totally new crowd, in my opinion.”
Moreover, Altman mentioned individuals are “fed up” with the drama with varied insurance coverage insurance policies.
“The other thing that I am seeing a lot of … is a lot of people who are fed up with what’s going on with the [insurance] policies that can’t leave California are talking about Orange County,” Altman mentioned.
“There’s a moratorium proper now on insurance coverage for any home inside a 35-mile radius of a hearth line the place the fireplace was, in order that’s lots of homes. So, there’s no insurance coverage occurring proper now in these areas — zero. After which different people who find themselves not in these areas, premiums are going to go up.
“With that being said, how are you going to rebuild a house at $1,000 a foot when you’re heavily underinsured?” he continued. “It’s not happening. So, you’re going to end up selling your land, you’re going to get your insurance company check and you’re going to try to move on with your life and try to take back as much as you possibly can.”
For individuals who select to remain, Altman predicts it is going to take years to rebuild, and the associated fee will likely be astronomical.
“People have to understand the build process,” he shared. “Most individuals haven’t constructed houses of their lives, in order that they in all probability assume it’s quite a bit simpler and quite a bit faster than it’s. … It’s a really tough course of, particularly in a spot like California. There’s no chopping corners. There’s no fast strategy to do it.
“I don’t see these houses in places like the Palisades or Altadena — I don’t see that happening for three years,” he continued. “I feel it’s going to be a 12 months till all the things is cleaned up. Then, they’re going to fast-forward the allow course of, from what I’m listening to. So, as an alternative of one other 12 months for permits, perhaps it’s one other couple of months, however there’s no means round a construct means of two years.
“And then you have to take into account the fact that, do you want to live in a neighborhood where, if you did the perfect build, most people are not going to be that fast? So, you have to assume it’s going to be four to five years,” he added. “That’s the realistic timeline on this. And because of that, that’s going to be an issue, because that’s a very long time.”
As of Friday, the Palisades Hearth was 31% contained and has burned 23,713 acres.
Ten deaths have been reported from the Palisades Hearth because it ignited Jan. 7, with greater than 3,500 buildings destroyed or broken.
