Last spring, Realtor Teresa Fuller saw signs that the epic task of rebuilding Altadena could be a local affair, with potential buyers wanting to place a bet on the community’s future.
“Early on, the market was very active. A lot of Altadenans, a lot of La Cañadans, a lot of people wanted to be involved in the rebuild,” said Fuller, a real estate agent in Altadena.
But as more and more lots hit the market, buyers and sellers both had to adjust their expectations. By mid-summer 2025, inventory had reached its high point, with around 160 active lot listings in Altadena, according to Fuller. That number dropped to 75 by the end of the year as prices fell.
Now, there are growing signs that outside investors have moved in and dominated the market, with profound implications for the future.
A new report from Redfin shows that at least 40% of lot sales in the fire-damaged areas in both Altadena and Pacific Palisades went to investors in the third quarter of 2025. This raises the likelihood, some experts say, that outsiders may hold off on rebuilding to maximize their investment.
The finding comes amid worries from fire survivors in Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu that their communities will be rebuilt by investors.
In Altadena, 27 of the 61 lots that sold in July, August and September of last year were purchased by investors, or 44%. Malibu saw a similar percentage of investor purchases, while in Pacific Palisades the ratio was 40%.
“Following these disasters, it’s really difficult for residents to hold onto their homes,” said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “It’s really unfortunate.”
By contrast, Redfin analysis showed that nationwide, less than a fifth of single-family homes — 17% — were purchased by investors over the same time period.
Sellers often ask prospective buyers whether they plan to live in the property they are buying, but those calls have become much more rare over time for Fuller. More than half of those who come looking for a lot see the hurdles of building in charred neighborhoods and decide to switch their focus to existing homes, she said.
“People are realizing how hard it is to build a house,” Fuller said. “It’s a full-time job.”
As for investors, some are “buying and waiting to see what the new construction market looks like,” she said. “We have a lot of developers in town who are really trying to be sensitive to fitting in to the neighborhood.”
A year after more than 6,000 homes were destroyed in the Eaton fire, 2,600 rebuild applications had been submitted and 1,100 permits issued, according to Fuller.
Though some investors like lottery winner Edwin Castro have made headlines by purchasing multiple lots, the process is largely opaque and the names of the buyers are obfuscated by limited liability companies, or LLCs, Fairweather said.
“It could be foreign entities, it could be private equity, we really have no way of knowing who’s buying up this land,” she said.
Two brothers from New Zealand snapped up $65 million worth of lots in Malibu last year and said they planned to build on the lots.
While homeowners who lost a house to the fires would be motivated to rebuild quickly, investors might be in less of a hurry, possibly sitting on lots for years to maximize the resale price of a rebuilt home, she said. The practice is known as land banking, Fairweather said. When this happens, overall rebuilding efforts can be slowed as lots sit empty and the positive impacts of mass rebuilding — people coming back to neighborhoods, stores reopening — are diminished.
A Times review of Redfin data confirmed that investors have made up a larger share of the market for lots in L.A.’s fire-damaged areas over time.
In Pacific Palisades, lot prices went into “free fall” between February and June last year as available lots flooded the market, dropping 40%, said Dan Urbach, a Realtor in that community.
Since then, prices have stabilized, and sales have been split relatively even between owner-users and investors. Despite the fear in the community, Urbach said the thought of private equity or corporations swooping in is not realistic.
“It’s going to be very difficult to buy up a whole block,” he said, “so I’m not as concerned about it.” He hasn’t seen any groups buy more than about a dozen homes.
In Altadena, inventory has dropped from 220 active lots in June to 127 now. A cooling off over the holidays is normal, he said, estimating that about half of the lots that will ultimately hit the market have already done so.
As more people reach insurance settlements, Urbach expects lot selling activity to pick up again. Though some land banking might happen, with developers sitting on land for five to seven years, he believes it won’t happen at a large scale.
In the wealthier Pacific Palisades and Malibu, affording to rebuild can be easier than in historically upper-middle-class Altadena.
“For the most part, it’s one-off or even parents buying lots for their children,” Urbach said.
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