House burned to the ground by Eaton Fire in escrow for $550,000

The Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, destroying thousands of homes and reducing them to parcels of ash and rubble. What’s believed to be the first public sale of a burned lot is now in escrow, a week after the fire reached full containment.

Real estate agent Brock Harris listed the lot for $449,000, and quickly received dozens of calls from prospective buyers. The winning bid was $100,000 above asking price, all cash, and is expected to close escrow early next week.

On the listing page the property is described as land only, with no interior or exterior amenities. “Great opportunity to build on a generous-sized lot,” it reads.

Altadena not for sale?

The speed of the sale is bound to draw attention.

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Altadena has historically been a sanctuary for people who couldn’t buy homes elsewhere, especially Black families. Over the years, it became a close-knit community where people of all different backgrounds call home. After the fire residents placed up signs across Altadena proclaiming that their neighborhood is “not for sale.”

A “We Love Altadena, Not For Sale” sign has a number to call.

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Evan Jacoby

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LAist

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But not everybody can afford to spend years managing a complicated rebuild of a burned lot, says Harris.

“What's important is that homes get rebuilt,” he says. “The worst thing would be if a third of the lots never get rebuilt at all for decades.”

Rebuilding, he adds, is a “capital intensive and people intensive project,” and passing that work on to a professional home builder might make it easier – and faster – to get new or displaced Altadena residents back in homes.

Real estate listing for a home that was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

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Screengrab from the website of the real estate firm, Brock & Lori Harris

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The previous owner in 2023 paid $960,000 for the 2-bed and 2-bath home located on Calaveras Street, purchasing it from Harris’s real estate firm. She rented out the house to tenants, Harris says, and “didn't want to take on the enormous project of rebuilding the home.”

It was difficult to price the new listing, Harris says, since there were few examples of homes in comparable condition. So the firm consulted with other local realtors and set their asking price, believing that the market would self-correct.

When asked about his thoughts on the Altadena Not For Sale signs, Harris says he likes the sentiment. “No one should be taken advantage of, no one should panic sell, and no one should sell below market,” he says.

“But what's important is that we get people back in this great city and get it back on its feet," Harris adds. “That's going to take housing and that housing has to get built quickly. And the way to do that, I think, is with owners, developers, everybody working together.”

Similar sales are beginning to appear in the Palisades as well. A destroyed property is in escrow for “well above” its asking price of $999,000, according to Richard Schulman, the listing agent.

Despite the quick sale, Schulman doesn’t expect a deluge of sellers any time soon. “A lot of people aren’t ready,” he says, “even if they know they’re going to sell.”