LOS ANGELES
Editor’s Note: The devastating wildfires that tore through Los Angeles County in January, destroying – as of this writing – thousands of homes, claiming at least two dozen human lives, and causing what is estimated to be more than $50 billion in property damage, will affect the local market in ways we have not yet begun to understand. While our original forecast for the Los Angeles luxury market included commentary on the 18-month-old Mansion Tax, the influx of international buyers and a number of headline-generating sales, we felt it was inappropriate to focus on those topics while so many people throughout the area continue to battle to save their homes or find new ones.
We applaud the Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California agents – and all agents throughout the region, some of whom have lost their own homes – for stepping forward to help house their fellow Angelenos in this time of need.
We also commend Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California founder and CEO, Aaron Kirman, along with the leaders of a number of other Los Angeles-area brokerage firms, for calling on local government officials to adjust certain policies in an effort to rebuild impacted neighborhoods and protect the area from future disasters. Those measures include pausing the Measure ULA Mansion Tax; exempting local building departments, builders and homeowners from certain code restrictions that would prevent expeditious rebuilding; pausing property taxes on homes destroyed by fire until those properties can be rebuilt or reassessed at land value; and increasing fire insurance coverage under the state of California’s FAIR Plan.
Our hearts are with Los Angeles.
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