$985M In Securitized CRE Loans Sitting In Areas Impacted By LA Wildfires

Though the total scope of devastation caused by the Palisades and Eaton wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles in January is still being tallied, new data from Trepp indicates that properties tied to $985M in securitized CRE loans were potentially exposed. 

Last month, Bisnow reported that an estimated $1.8B in commercial real estate backing $1.3B in CMBS debt was within evacuation or warning zones. Both fires are now 100% contained. 

As of Jan. 30, 76 loans with a combined balance of $985.2M were within the boundaries of ZIP codes where fires damaged properties. Presence on the list doesn't necessarily mean a property was impacted.

Multifamily dominates the list of exposed properties, accounting for 45 loans. 

Multifamily properties that aren't damaged are positioned to benefit from higher occupancy over time, as the effort to rebuild the properties that were lost is expected to take years, not months. 

Some of the largest loans on the list — such as the $93M securitized loan connected to Avalon at Del Mar, a transit-oriented development at the Del Mar A Line light rail station — are out of harm’s way. Avalon at Del Mar is near Old Town Pasadena’s shops and restaurants. 

Housing economists, advocates and industry professionals have said they anticipate the lost housing units, both multifamily and single-family homes, will create a crunch on the already tight Los Angeles-area housing market that could result in higher rents even outside the areas directly impacted by fires. 

Also in harm’s way were properties connected to 14 self-storage and 11 office loans. A Pasadena business park on Bradley Street has a loan balance of about $32M. Two of its buildings appear on a map of inspected properties as “affected” by the Eaton fire, a classification used for structures with less than minor damage.

No loans are delinquent at this time, according to Trepp. But 28.7% of the loans, totaling $283M, are on watchlists.