An LA real estate agent reveals the No. 1 reason Pacific Palisades residents don’t return
Former ‘Million Dollar Listing’ star and Los Angeles real estate agent Josh Altman provides an update on wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts, and previews President Donald Trump’s tour of disaster areas.
After making a shocking prediction Up to 70% of Pacific Palisades residents Former “Million Dollar Listing” real estate agent Josh Altman explains exactly why.
“They’re not going back because they don’t want to go back. They really want to go back there … because they’re not going back because it’s a simple calculation,” Altman said on “FOX Business Live,” Friday. .
“I don’t think most uninsured people can afford to rebuild with the construction, lumber, metal costs. We’re talking about a $1,000 (per foot) building. The Palisades and Malibu.”
Southern California has been battling wildfires since January 7. More than 50,000 acres were burned, 28 people were killed and more than 16,000 homes and buildings were completely destroyed.
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President Donald Trump After visiting the devastation in Los Angeles, he declared a national emergency on Friday with residents personally affected by the disaster.
Former “Million Dollar Listing” star Josh Altman argues on “FOX Business Live” that up to 70% of Pacific Palisades residents are unable to return to their homes due to expensive insurance and building costs. (FOX Business)
Early estimates put the total financial loss of the wildfire in the region of 50 billion dollars, AccuWeather and JPMorgan. Leading up to the fire, many insurance companies fled, stopped writing new policies or reduced coverage in the golden state.
“And this is getting construction workers to show up to your site when there are 16,000 structures that have burned between homes, schools, businesses. This is a risk,” Altman expanded. “I’m just saying, I don’t know if they can do it with insurance.”
Newsom signed a $2.5 billion aid package for wildfire recovery. But Altman wants Newsom to take his response a step further by eliminating the red tape that makes building homes in California time-consuming and expensive.
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“The recipe for success is cutting red tape. The process of building a house in California, wrapped only in red tape, is almost impossible: one year to get a permit; they got a coastal commission, which can be another two years.
“There were a lot of regulations and a lot of things that had to go through at the state and local level. The field tax, that was the worst tax that’s ever been passed,” Altman continued. “To all the people who lost their homes, get rid of it. Wildlife Act, get rid of it. Start cutting red tape. That’s how we get back to a stronger Los Angeles.”
A real estate expert who spoke ahead of the president’s visit said he hoped Trump would see the damage firsthand and bring in more federal aid and assistance.
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The Oppenheim Group founder and ‘Selling Sunset’ lead broker spoke with Fox News Digital about how landlords are dealing with price increases amid the devastating California wildfires.
“You have to see. I’ve walked the Palisades, I’ve walked Malibu. It’s physically worse than you can imagine. Hopefully that will open up funding at the federal level.”
Critical fire conditions are missing. throughout the regionFriday, isolated pockets of rain are expected over the weekend. Beneficial rain will peak on Sunday, but mud may form in burn scarred areas.
Fox News’ Stephen Price and FOX Weather’s Chris Oberholtz contributed to this report.