Michael Hooks, a realtor based in Los Angeles, has been heartbroken as he watched devastating wildfires rip through his hometown this week. From his residence in Sherman Oaks—a neighborhood not yet affected by the fires—he's been left with his "head on a swivel," watching for news and updates while looking for ways to help his community in this time of great need.
Spurred by the realization of how many people will be looking for short- and long-term accommodations in the coming days, he and other LA-based real estate agents have started contributing to a Google doc of available homes to lease around the city. Created by husband and wife realtor team Brock and Lori Harris, and divided by neighborhood, it currently boasts a few hundred different options, and is being updated daily.
Though realtors would usually never dream of sharing their listings with each other, Hooks says the agents haven't hesitated to come together this week. Many are doing the work pro-bono, he says.
"It's just kind of the spirit of the city," Hooks tells Fortune. "We just want to see these people land on their feet."
It's a heartfelt communal effort at a time when LA can't afford to lose the thousands of homes that have burned in the wildfires. The city, like many others across the U.S., does not have enough housing—particularly affordable housing—for all of its residents; the fires are exacerbating that issue, and, as of Friday, fire officials estimated that more than 10,000 single-family homes, apartment complexes, and other structures had been destroyed. The LA metro area had a shortage of almost 337,000 homes as of 2022, according to a recent calculation from Zillow.
The realtors' solution is far from perfect. Hooks says he and the other agents are already running into an inventory problem. When displaced residents showed up to various properties on Thursday, they were met with long lines of other potential lessees. Though some of the more stringent lease processes are being eased, it still may be days or weeks before people start moving into the homes, if they are selected by the owners or landlords, he says.
"I wish we could just put all these people into houses immediately and have that be that, but the reality is, if you can have multiple people who are applying per house, it's going to be tough, and people are going to lose out," he says. "There's just not enough housing for everybody. It's going to be slim pickings."
And the effects on the broader housing market will be felt not just by owners and potential owners, but by displaced renters as well. In fact, rents will almost certainly increase in the area, especially near Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, which suffered almost total destruction in the massive fires.
Lori Harris, one of the creators of the spreadsheet, said she and others are planning to start renting out accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on their properties to displaced residents. She and her husband are also working on another list of resources of companies will to donate time, services, or goods like furniture to affected residents in the future. While many of the initial listings on the spreadsheet were for higher-end properties, she and other agents are working to add more affordable options.
"We’re trying to identify as the real estate design community how to help people find housing as soon as possible," Harris says, noting she started the initial spreadsheet after clients started reaching out for help. "It’s devastating to see what’s happening, but the goal is to bounce back and rebuild."
The lack of physical homes and apartments to move into is just one of LA's housing-related problems. Insurance companies did not renew policies for tens of thousands of residents there over the past five years, and that could get even worse in the future. Many people may go under- or uninsured as premiums continue to spiral.
For now, many of the nearly 200,000 people under evacuation orders are living in public shelters, hotels, or with family or friends.
"If anybody needs any help finding temporary housing, please don't hesitate to reach out," says Hooks. "I'm here to help."
