Survey: Nearly 90% of Real Estate Professionals in Fire-Prone Areas Are Worried About Home Safety After LA Disaster

A new survey conducted by REsimpli using Pollfish shows that 89.17% of real estate professionals are worried about their homes in fire-prone areas.

This study was aimed at 1,100 real estate professionals, highlighting some of the key components of the real estate industry following the tragic fire in Los Angeles.

Key Takeaways from the Survey

• 89.17% of real estate professionals are concerned about their homes in fire-prone areas
• 50.27% believe the insurance sector will be the most affected
• 91.59% are concerned about rising insurance premiums, with 66% being very concerned
• 91.86% of real estate professionals believe insurance premiums will influence living patterns
• 80.02% believe the frequency of LA wildfires will shift population dynamics in the US
• 86.8% of real estate professionals consider the risk of wildfires when evaluating properties
• 84.99% of professionals believe that property values will decline in the LA region
• 63.2% of real estate professionals expect the residential market to be the most affected
• 49.1% believe that luxury property prices will actually increase in LA’s fire-affected region
• 93.21% of professionals believe residential markets in fire-prone areas will be affected
• 74.32% of real estate professionals are now reconsidering working in fire-prone areas
• 46.67% of professionals believe the LA region and its economy will take 6-10 years to recover

Why We Conducted This Study

The intensity of the LA fire tragedy will have a lasting impact on real estate in LA’s and other fire-prone areas. 

This study aimed to gain insight from real estate professionals and their take on the future of real estate in LA and other fire-prone areas, expecting a turbulent time ahead.

Key Findings

89.17% of real estate professionals are concerned about their homes

With the disaster in LA, 89.17% of real estate professionals are concerned about the safety of their homes.

This question was posed to real estate professionals who live in fire-prone areas, which was 45.93% of the respondents, out of which only 10.83% are not concerned about their homes.

50.27% of professionals believe the Insurance sector will be the most affected

50.27% of real estate professionals think that the insurance sector will be the most affected by the LA wildfire tragedy. 

35.99% of the professionals think that the real estate sector will be the most affected due to the amount of land destroyed and 13.74% believe that the construction sector will be the most harmed.

91.59% are concerned about rising insurance premiums

A striking 91.59% of real estate professionals express concern about rising insurance premiums in wildfire-prone areas, with 62.66% being “very concerned.” 

Within the 91.59% concerned, 28.93% of real estate agents are somewhat concerned about the rise of insurance premiums, and only 8.41% are not concerned about it.

91.86% believe insurance premiums will influence people’s living patterns

91.86% of real estate professionals believe that wildfire-related insurance premiums will dictate people’s choice to live in LA or other similar areas.

Of the 91.86%, 56.51% believe high premiums will push people out in general, and 35.35% believe only lower-income households unable to afford the costs will be pushed out. 

Only 6.33% of professionals believe that people will absorb the cost of living in desired locations and 1.81% believe insurance premiums will have minimal impact on living decisions.

80.02% believe LA wildfire frequency will shift population dynamics

With the most recent LA wildfire tragedy and the frequency of fires in recent years, 80.02% believe there will be a permanent shift in population dynamics across the US.

31.83% of those professionals believe it will be a drastic shift and 48.19% believe it will be a slight population shift. 

17.09% of the respondents believe that people will rather adjust to their surroundings and 2.89% believe that there will be a minimal impact.

86.8% consider the risk of wildfire to be important when evaluating properties 

86.8% of real estate professionals consider the risk of wildfire to be important when considering properties, out of which 57.78% believe that it is very important.

29.02% of the 86.8% consider it to be somewhat important, but a small portion – 13.20% consider the risk of wildfire to not be a concern when evaluating properties. 

84.99% believe that property values will decline in the region due to LA wildfire

84.99% of real estate professionals believe that property values will decline in the LA region due to the wildfires, out of which 34.99% believe it will be a significant decline.

49.91% of professionals believe that the decline in property values will be moderate. However, 15.10% of respondents believe that there will be no major change in property values.

63.2% of professionals believe the residential market will be affected the most

With so much of the LA landscape burning in the wildfire, 63.2% of real estate professionals believe that the residential market will be the most impacted in the LA region.

The luxury market’s impact was the only other significant choice with 20.98% of votes. The commercial market gained 7.96%, the industrial market gained 2.44%, and the rental market gained 5.42% of votes.

49.1% of professionals think luxury property prices will rise in LA’s fire-affected region

Luxury properties are probably the only exception with the ability to rise in value, as 49.1% of professionals believe so.

The other choices divided up the thoughts on this question, as 34.54% of professionals believe that luxury properties will lose value, and 16.37% believe their prices will remain stable.

93.21% believe that residential markets in fire-prone areas will be affected 

The survey reveals that a staggering 93.21% of professionals believe that residential markets in fire-prone areas will be affected in the future, due to the LA wildfire. 66.18% of the 93.21% believe the residential market will be “significantly impacted”.

27.03% anticipate slight impacts to the residential market, and 6.78% expect the residential markets in these areas to remain stable. 

74.32% are now leery of working in wildfire-prone areas

With how devastating the LA wildfire has been, 74.32% of real estate professionals are rethinking their choice of working in them – 26.49% are seriously reconsidering working in these areas.

The rest of the 74.32%, which is 47.83%, are still open to working in them, but being very cautious moving forward. However, 25.68% of professionals have not reconsidered their position, and are open to working in them. 

46.67% of professionals believe the LA region and its economy will take 6-10 years to recover

46.67% believe that it will take 6-10 years for the LA region and its economy to recover. 

28.93% believe in a quick recovery believing it will 1-5 years, with 15.64% thinking it will take 11-15 years, 4.79% thinking it will take 16-20 years, and 4.16% believing it will take longer than 20 years to recover. 

Implications for the Real Estate Industry

This study serves to provide an understanding of the real estate market and the professionals’ opinions on a very sudden and colossal tragedy that has affected the lives of thousands of people in the immediate area and millions more countrywide.

Based on this survey, real estate professionals believe that the residential market in LA has suffered the most, and contrarily, the luxury market will see benefits.

On top of that, real estate professionals believe that property values will decline in general in the LA region. This tragedy’s impact can be so significant that 80.02% of the survey’s professionals believe that the country’s population dynamics will be impacted. 

It is also key to note how important it is to monitor and provide safeguards to fire-prone areas, as 86.8% of professionals consider the risk of wildfire to be an important factor when evaluating properties. 

This survey also helps gain an expert understanding of how long the economy and the region might take to recover, as almost half the respondents believe it will take 6-10 years to recover.

Looking Ahead

With professionals deeming the residential market to be the most affected, it is up to the government to focus on facilitating a means of helping the local LA population, especially those unable to bring themselves out of such a huge loss. 

On top of that, people who might be inclined to buy homes in 2025 might want to give it a second thought and see if their chosen areas are fire-prone or not. 

However, a very important finding was the fact that 50.27% of real estate professionals believe that the insurance sector will be affected the most. 

On top of that, 56.51% of the professionals also believe that high insurance premiums will drive people to risk-prone areas, as a consequence of the LA wildfire. 

62.66% of real estate professionals are very concerned about the rising insurance premiums in wildfire-prone areas.

With all of these issues coming from fire-prone areas, the government can look to focus on rebuilding safer areas in LA, which 53.62% of professionals agreed with as well, and focus on other fire-prone areas, and make them safer too. 

The survey reveals varying impacts across different real estate sectors:

Methodology

The survey, conducted using Pollfish, captured responses from 1,100 real estate professionals across the United States, representing a diverse cross-section of the industry.

This survey ensured that real estate professionals from various sectors were also consulted, such as real estate investors, real estate professionals, and rental professionals, in order to get a proper idea of the real estate landscape. 

Survey Design & Collection

This survey focused on information gathered with objectivity from 1,100 real estate professionals who can give expert opinions on the current and future of real estate in the US after the tragic LA wildfire which will have implications both in the area and countrywide. 

Limitations

As with any study, there are limitations with this as well that can not be crossed. One of the key factors is the timing of this study. With the LA wildfire being less than a week old during the time of this survey, emotions are all over the place for everybody.

The timing also does not allow for there to be enough time for the professionals to have a complete overview of the situation in order to assess all the variables at play. 

There could be a regional bias towards the answers regarding LA specifically as this survey was addressed to professionals all over the country.

Conclusion

This research was conducted independently to provide valuable insights for policymakers, industry leaders, and the public regarding the real estate market’s response to increasing wildfire risks. 

The findings aim to inform future policy decisions and investment strategies in wildfire-prone regions and help people have an understanding of where the real estate market might be headed.