- Los Angeles residents affected by the wildfires can expect to see rent prices increase as they look for a new place to seek shelter in the aftermath. Real-estate experts say rent hikes are inevitable, and the wildfire’s effects on the housing market will be long-term.
Los Angeles was already one of the most expensive and competitive housing markets in the U.S. before the wildfires. Now that nearly 180,000 people have been displaced in LA , the rental market stands to become even more costly as people whose homes were damaged seek short- and long-term places to live.
“The LA housing market was already tight and undersupplied prior to the fires, so this will inevitably lead to increased rental housing costs in the immediate term,” Sean Roberts, CEO of California-based offsite homebuilder Villa , told Fortune .
In 2024, the California Housing Partnership reported nearly half a million low-income households didn’t have access to an affordable home, adding Los Angeles renters need to earn $48.04 per hour—nearly three times the city of Los Angeles minimum wage—to afford the average monthly asking rent of $2,498…