HousingWireHousingWire
Victims displaced due to the Los Angeles wildfires are straining Southern California’s already tight real estate and rental markets, according to a report from Homes.com.
The report, published on Wednesday, found that nearly all two-bedroom rentals from Santa Monica and Marina del Rey to Manhattan Beach have been leased. Additionally, housing demand has also risen drastically in Brentwood, Bel Air and Beverly Hills, as well as Newport Beach and Orange County.
Newport Beach in particular shares many similarities with the mostly destroyed enclave of Pacific Palisades, making it a popular destination among displaced residents.
In Newport Beach the median list price for a single family home is $5.995 million, compared to $6.0 million in Pacific Palisades in late-December 2024 prior to the outbreak of the fires, according to data from Altos.
The Homes.com report also expresses concern over how the influx of people into Orange County from Los Angeles will impact home prices in the area. The median list price in Orange County hit a peak of $2.1 million in 2024, up from a peak of $1.9 million in 2023, according to Altos data.
“The Los Angeles wildfires will only increase demand across the Southern California region, amplifying the trend of people moving out of Los Angeles and into Orange County, further exacerbating the region’s already tight housing availability,” the report said.
According to Homes.com data, apartment vacancy rates in Los Angeles County are the third lowest in the country at 5.2%. However, Orange County and Newport Beach are even worse at 4.1% and 2.1%, respectively. With displacement due to the wildfires driving even more people into those regions, Homes.com is expecting to see those vacancy rates drop even further.
As rental inventory continues to decrease, California’s Department of Justice is cracking down on price gouging. So far the state’s attorney general has pressed charges against two real estate agents over alleged price gouging.
