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This burnt-out 3-bedroom in Torrance sold for over $1 million. Welcome to California's housing market
Your morning catch-up: Housing market woes, a shooting at the San Diego Islamic Center and more big stories
Your morning catch-up: Housing market woes, a shooting at the San Diego Islamic Center and more big stories
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There’s a dilapidated house near my apartment complex in Torrance. Its doors and windows are covered by plywood boards and “No Trespassing” signs. Its frontyard is choked by dry, shin-high weeds. Chunks of its roof are missing.
Its listing on multiple real estate websites read: “This property has Fire Damage. BOARDED UP! … Do Not Enter or Occupy Property. No Interior Showings!”
Photos of the three-bedroom house showed one room with a smoke-blackened popcorn ceiling, and a small kitchen with vinyl flooring darkened by what looked to be a thick layer of mold or dirt.
The empty 1,140-square-foot home at the busy corner of Lenore Street and Anza Avenue, which was built in 1955 and damaged in a house fire two years ago, was snapped up in a probate sale last June.
Of course a fire-charred tear-down sold for more than a million bucks. That’s California’s miserable housing market for you.
Even starter homes are expensive
The average mid-tier single-family home in California is worth about $775,000, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office recently reported. That’s more than double the price of a typical mid-tier home in the U.S. as a whole.
“Perhaps even more importantly for a first-time home buyer, a bottom-tier home in California” — you’re looking at an average of $472,000 — ”is now about 30 percent more expensive than a mid-tier home in the rest of the U.S.,” the report states.
The LAO reported that only about 46% of California households in 2026 would probably qualify for a bottom-tier home mortgage based on income, down from 57% in 2019. Only about 23% would probably qualify for a mid-tier home mortgage, down from 31% in 2019.
In Torrance, the median sale price for homes, per Zillow, is $1.1 million. Roughly the price of the burned house.
Priced out of the housing market
My husband and I moved to Los Angeles from Oklahoma in our early 20s in 2011.
We come from working-class families (my mom is a licensed practical nurse for Veterans Affairs; my husband’s dad, a heart transplant recipient, works in the sporting goods department of a rural Walmart). We put ourselves through college with student loans (mine were paid off a few years ago; my husband’s will be with us until we’re in our late 40s).
It was difficult to save, but we used to dream of someday buying a home.
We moved to the South Bay in 2018, when I was very pregnant with our first child. The babies — a boy in 2018; a girl in 2022 — brought sky-high day-care payments. And each year, rent for our upstairs unit increased.
A few days ago, I cringed when my now-7-year-old son told me that one of his friends had a really cool house nearby. I knew what was coming next.
Why, he asked, do we live in an apartment and some of his friends have houses?
I rushed through an awkward spiel about how homes have different costs in different areas and at different points of time. I said we never assume anything about people based on where they live.
I told him his friend does have a cool place, and that we, too, have a home to be proud of.
The story of the burnt home
When I learned more about the fire down the street, my rage about the property sale to an investment company turned to sadness.
On Feb. 1, 2024, firefighters arrived just after 4 a.m. Black smoke could be seen through a bedroom window, according to an incident investigation report from the Torrance Fire Department that I obtained via public records request.
The sole occupant was a disabled elderly man who escaped by crawling out of a window. The house was dangerously cluttered. Investigators said detritus lay close to the grate of the floor furnace and probably got too hot, sparking the blaze.
Before the probate sale, it had last sold in 1977, for $74,000.
A quick introduction
I will be anchoring the newsletter for a while. I have reported all across our huge, beautiful and strange state for 15 years, telling tales from Imperial County to Del Norte and many places in between. Have tips, ideas, thoughts, feedback? I’m at [email protected].
Today’s top stories
Islamic Center of San Diego shooting
- Three people were killed when two teenagers opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday morning in an attack that sparked widespread shock and condemnation.
- Authorities are trying to unravel what led the teens to carry out the attack, which is being investigated as a hate crime.
Fires in Simi Valley and Santa Rosa Island
- A fast-moving brush fire in Simi Valley burned at least one home and another structure Monday, scorching about 1,364 acres with 0% containment.
- A wildfire sparked by the flare of a shipwrecked mariner has burned around one-fourth of Santa Rosa Island and marks what officials called the largest blaze recorded on the island in modern history.
The Joshua tree is disappearing
- The Joshua tree, an icon of the California desert, is disappearing because of human encroachment and climate change.
- Scientists hope the key to unlocking its long-term survival is buried in the sand.
The 2026 World Cup is set to become ‘most polluting’ ever
- The expanded number of teams at this year’s men’s World Cup will help make the games the worst for the climate in history.
- Researchers estimate this World Cup will emit more than 9 million tons of carbon dioxide, largely from long‑haul flights as 5 million fans crisscross the continent.
What else is going on
- A growing tribe of jobless techies is stuck in Silicon Valley’s new reality.
- City Council progressives snub Nithya Raman, and endorse Mayor Bass in the L.A. mayor’s race.
- Forced treatment and jail: Spencer Pratt’s pledges to end homelessness stir up mayor’s race.
- Trump DOJ creates a $1.7-billion fund for victims of legal weaponization,” prompting outrage.
Commentary and opinions
- Spencer Pratt, like Donald Trump, is a product of the reality TV industrial complex, argues news and culture critic Lorraine Ali.
- We will miss the divine and very human ministry of Stephen Colbert, writes culture critic Mary McNamara.
- Former Dodger Justin Turner is playing for the Tijuana Toros. Here’s why he “wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
This morning’s must-read
In her Silver Lake ADU, this L.A. artist turns glass and clay into something magical
Los Angeles artist Julie Burton hand-crafts elegant glass jewelry, ceramics and home decor in her Silver Lake ADU.
Other must-reads
- How Formula One problem-solving tactics are being used in the fight against dementia.
- Why the Dodgers’ 2017 pitch to Shohei Ohtani remains relevant.
For your downtime
Going out
- Restaurants: Here are 9 gooey, comforting grilled cheese sandwiches to try in L.A.
- Comedy shows: LGBTQ+ comedians are redefining roasts as an art form in West Hollywood.
- Movies: Here’s a guide to L.A.’s best outdoor movie events this summer (including some freebies!)
Staying in
- Television: As “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” ends, revisit these 10 memorable moments.
- Music: Everybody loves the sunshine, eventually: The enduring appeal of Roy Ayers’ 1976 song.
- Recipe: Here’s a recipe for marinara sauce perfect for any pasta.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
A question for you: What movies are you most excited to see this summer?
The Times recently published the 16 summer movies we’re most excited to see. Now, we want to hear from you.
Email us at [email protected], and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... the photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times contributor Jennelle Fong in the L.A. Sparks tunnel at Crypto.com Arena on opening night earlier this month.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].
Hailey Branson-Potts is a state reporter who joined the Los Angeles Times in 2011. She reports on a wide range of issues and people, with a special focus on rural communities. She grew up in the small town of Perry, Okla., and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.
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Source Reference
Originally published by Los Angeles Times
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