I’m an electrical Inspector for the City of Los Angeles — specifically I have been assigned to the Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, and the Beverly Hills adjacent areas. For the past several years the construction activity has been staggering. Frequently, when I show up at construction sites for inspection, I am approached by homeowners that complain about the number of vehicles parked on their street. They argue that the number of construction workers —driving into and parking in their neighborhoods — prevents from being able get in and out of their homes. Construction in West Los Angeles has been a booming.
As an inspector, I’ve held a front-row seat to this construction wave. I’ve watched as 1960s and 1970s construction was demolished and replaced with new homes. In almost all cases, I watched as new single family homes with double, triple and sometimes four times the square footage were built to replace the old. With new architecture, and new technology such as tankless water heaters, EV charging, renewable energy, energy efficient insulation and building materials, the neighborhoods of West Los Angeles have changed. I’m not a realtor but I can only imagine that replacing older homes with larger better appointed homes will significantly increase property values.
Recently (before shelter/in-place) my wife and I drove from our home north of the San Fernando Valley south down the 405 freeway exiting at Sunset Boulevard. We were driving to Malibu to have lunch at a restaurant called Moonshadows. A Sunday drive and lunch on the beach, we meandered down Sunset from the 405 to the Pacific Coast Highway. Neighborhoods that I routinely work during the week. The difference on Sunday was amazing, Sunset was peppered with open house signs from the 405 to PCH. I was left wondering if the construction boom had not overplayed its hand. I wondered if the law of supply and demand would affect the sales of these homes.
I’ve always believed that the prosperity of West Los Angeles played a significant role in the Tesla revolution. When I first considered investing in Tesla, I asked my wife: How many folks can afford a $130,000 car? She replied, I sell $14,000 handbags. There are more than enough folks right here in Los Angeles. Eight years down the road, I can only say, my wife was right. Teslas are common in Los Angeles.
I suppose it’s my blue collar background, I want to ask her: How many folks can buy multi-million dollar homes in the Pacific Palisades?
Off topic?
