Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States, was hit by major fires which broke out on Tuesday January 7, 2025. These caused at least 24 deaths. At the same time, prices on rental or property sale ads have increased.
© Tiffany Rose / Contributor
– Nearly 150,000 people had to flee their homes in Los Angeles.
Flames that destroyed more than 12,000 buildings and houses in Los Angeles and near 150,000 people had to flee their homes. If the fires continue to rage, rental housing prices have exploded in recent days in the American city, reports the Huffington Post. Journalist David Wagner, from local media LAist, said he saw an ad whose rental price had increased by 86% since September 2024. Just six months ago, the house was renting for $15,900 compared to more than $29,000 today.
-Some apartments or houses have also seen their prices increase sharply in a few days: by 15% for a five-bedroom in Century City and even up to 64% for an apartment of a bedroom in the Venice district, an area very popular with buyers. “It’s completely crazy”an evacuated resident told AFP. “We applied for a house in Venice that was listed for $17,000 a month, and they told us if we didn’t pay $30,000 we wouldn’t get it. They told me that they have people ready to outbid, and to pay cash”she assured.
Natural disasters: definition and compensation
Price gouging prohibited
A local real estate agent said there were “a lot of money” to do. “When the events happened, people were desperate. You can surely make a lot of money”she explained to David Wagner. But the state has decided to ban price gouging until further notice. An increase of more than 10% on groceries, gasoline, or even real estate is thus prohibited under penalty of one year in prison and several thousand dollars in fines.
