By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-14 19:44:08 | Updated at 2025-03-15 00:04:45
4 hours ago
The Palisades wildfire hadn’t even been contained before an LA professor put her burned-out property up for sale — and netted more from the charred lot than she was asking for.
Terri Bromberg, an art teacher at Santa Monica College, told the Post she never thought of rebuilding her home, worth an estimated $2.7 million including its prime real estate before it went up in smoke.
She said she got around $650,000 from insurance for her leveled house, enough to cover what was left on her mortgage.
Her asking price for the ghostly site was then $999,999, and she finally peddled the ruin for $1.2 million — making it the first burned-out property sold after January’s wildfires.
“I made a decision for myself and my family emotionally and economically,” Bromberg said of her decision to just move. “At this point, I’m happy.”
The prof isn’t the only longtime Pacific Palisades homeowner abandoning the neighborhood.
Some of the Pacific Palisades lots currently listed on Zillow have not changed hands for decades, and they are worth vastly more than what they originally went for — even with their houses in ashes.
One property is currently on the market for $2.2 million after having gone for $845,000 in 1998.
“Come be part of the rebuild,” its listing reads.
Other property owners are cutting their prices apparently at least partly in fear of a softening market.
One listing that had already been on the market for $4.4 million recently slashed its asking price by $2 million overnight.
At first, Bromberg’s daughter suggested her mom hire a contractor and rebuild the house, and the teacher’s Realtor advised her that the value of her lot would increase as the neighborhood recovers.
But Bromberg said she wanted to be settled as soon as possible — and besides, she was done with the Palisades. She enjoyed her time in the neighborhood but doesn’t want to build a new house only to see it burn down in the next wildfire, she said.
She ended up buying a smaller place in Santa Monica, just to the south.
Her new place is near the ocean and even closer to Santa Monica College. She said she will probably stay in the neighborhood forever, but if she does move again, it won’t be to Pacific Palisades.
“I don’t want to move back there. I’m done with it,” she said.
