It’s been one year since the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles destroyed homes in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. And while residents are still figuring out whether and how to rebuild, speculators have wasted no time buying up distressed properties and vacant land. According to Redfin data, investors purchased roughly 40% of the vacant lots sold in fire-ravaged neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Malibu during the third quarter of 2025.

These investors are buying low so that one day, when these neighborhoods are fully recovered, they may sell high. In the best of cases, these investors will quickly develop vacant lots into housing that is denser and more climate resilient, so that more residents may own homes that are both safe and affordable. But in the worst of cases, some investors never sell, opting to hoard the land as a store of wealth so they can benefit from rising land values in perpetuity, while contributing to the housing shortage that keeps homeownership unaffordable. This type of disaster capitalism has happened before, like during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Maui Wildfires, and as natural disasters become more frequent due to climate change, more neighborhoods will become investor owned.