As the Los Angeles area moves toward recovery after last month’s wildfires, some residents are moving to sell their property instead of rebuilding.

Listings for fire-damaged land in neighborhoods damaged by the two largest fires, the Eaton and Palisades fires, are starting to populate the market, according to Homes.com data. Together, the two fires destroyed about 11,000 homes totaling just shy of $30 billion.

Now, some of those destroyed properties are hitting the market as residents wrestle with rebuilding or moving on.

As of Tuesday, at least five fire-damaged lots were for sale in Altadena, according to Homes.com. At least another five had gone under contract or sold. In Pacific Palisades, there were at least 10 fire-damaged lots listed on Homes.com.

It’s not an uncommon phenomenon for land listings and sales to increase after a natural disaster like the Eaton and Palisades fires. It’s also not uncommon for that trend to spark contention between residents who feel strongly about preserving their community and those who can’t or don’t want to stay and rebuild.

Take the Hawaiian island of Maui, for example. In 2023, after wildfires destroyed thousands of acres along the coast, residents reported receiving cold calls from investors and real estate agents looking to buy their damaged property for cheap. Not only were displaced Hawaiians disgruntled by the offers but many cited worries about preserving their community if outsiders were buying up land.

A similar fear is starting to manifest in parts of Los Angeles. The streets of Altadena are dotted with “Altadena is Not for Sale” signs and local leaders have warned residents about outside investors looking for land. But at the same time, there are residents who need to sell.

"We're in the Wild West," said Teresa Fuller, a top-producing real estate agent in Altadena and the leader of the Teresa Fuller Team at Compass, said in an interview.

In Altadena, residents, local leaders and real estate professionals are all navigating the aftermath of last month's devastation. And they're working to find a solution that leaves as many people happy as possible.

On the one hand, residents want to restore the community to the unique enclave it was less than two months ago. That means keeping residents in place and preventing outsiders from disrupting what was once a special town, said Nic Arnzen, Altadena Town Council vice chair, in an interview.

"As elected officials and the county government, we're not in the business of builders and contractors and designers and figuring out what's going to happen from a real estate point of view," Arnzen said. "What we are interested in is somebody who wants to stay in Altadena. How can we create that opportunity for them to stay and not have their property scooped up by developers?"

But not all residents have a viable option to stay.

Real estate agent Fuller listed her first lot in the town at the end of last week. The owners of the property are retired, and they didn't want to give up the retirement they had planned and take on the risk and expense of rebuilding their home, she said.

Another prospective client called Fuller to see about listing her lot. She's underinsured so her coverage isn't enough to meet the cost of rebuilding. When Fuller asked for her address to learn more about the property, the caller hesitated. She didn't want anyone to know she was interested in selling because she was worried about backlash from neighbors.

Buyers interested in lots have questions, too. Some of the listings on Homes.com include notes that interested buyers shouldn't visit or walk the lots. Even for properties that have been cleared of debris, some listing agents have notes warning that there are still risks to seeing them in person.

All told, council Vice Chair Arnzen said he sees the possibility for some positives to come out of lots being rebuilt by developers or investors, especially if they are able to preserve the spunkiness of the town's former design and revive houses that may have otherwise needed updates.

"We want to see the uniqueness and the authentic individualism of Altadena come back," he said.