Hollywood real estate insiders reveal mass EXODUS from ‘toxic’ LA… as shocking new pictures show state of A-list wildfire mansions

As Oscar-winning singer-songwriter John Legend prepared to perform, officially opening the Palisades Village shopping mall in Los Angeles in 2018, a rabbi took the microphone to mark the blessed moment.

Arrayed before him were the great and good of the Los Angeles enclave of Pacific Palisades: Kate Beckinsale, Charlize Theron, Rita Wilson.

‘If you’re rich, you live in Beverly Hills; if you’re famous, you live in Malibu,’ the rabbi told them. ‘If you’re lucky, you live in the Palisades.’

But that was then, nearly a decade ago, when the affluent residents could look around their leafy streets, take in the ocean views, and consider themselves fortunate indeed.

Today the area is a ‘toxic warzone’, ravaged by wildfires, with swathes of previously prime hillside rendered uninhabitable – and thousands of rubble-strewn plots upon which once stood multi-million-dollar homes.

Now, even Legend says he is contemplating leaving – and he’s not alone.

One of LA’s best-known realtors to the stars Jason Oppenheim, star of hit reality TV show Selling Sunset, has told the Daily Mail that an increasing number of residents are abandoning the once-charmed spot.

And now Daily Mail reveals exclusive drone photos showing the true scale of the challenge for the dwindling number of hardy residents who say they’ll rebuild.

Actor John Goodman, 62, saw his $4.6 million property that he purchased in 2008 go up in flames.

The once spacious white craftsman home boasted five bedrooms, five bathrooms and offered a generous 5,250 square feet of living space.

New aerial pictures show it is little more than a dirt lot and the concrete remains of an outdoor kitchen, swimming pool and hot tub.

The before-and-after photos of ‘Nobody Wants This’ star Adam Brody and his wife of a decade, Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester, home are equally bleak.

Their $6.5 million home, bought in 2019 and described by the realtor as a ‘beach chic farmhouse,’ was burnt to the ground.

Daily Mail’s drone images reveal the lot has not even been cleared. The charred outlines of the structures, scorched debris and a singed are all that remain.

The couple were last seen in public house hunting in the Brentwood district in February.

Top Gun star Miles Teller’s $7.5 million marital mansion sits in similar condition – razed to the ground back in January and seemingly untouched since.

As of April 1, only four permits to rebuild had been issued by the city, and they were for people with pre-existing plans. Anyone wishing to remodel or expand their home will face a much longer process.

Others are still weighing up whether to accept the Army Corps of Engineers’ free debris removal, or wait until their insurance agrees to pay for a private contractor who will, unlike the Army, also deal with driveways and swimming pools.

The result of all that is slow, grinding slog to rebuild.

‘A considerable number don’t want to engage in a protracted, multiyear process of finding a developer or architect, getting all the permits and so on,’ Oppenheim told the Daily Mail. ‘A lot of people are moving elsewhere.’

Three months after the wildfires, 23,000 acres of Pacific Palisades are scorched and uninhabitable.

More than 5,000 residences were destroyed in the neighborhood.

Oppenheim pointed out that families with children were searching for stability and schools – two elementaries and a high school were destroyed or rendered unusable, as well as two churches. He also noted that retirees might not want the hassle of embarking on a new build.

Pacific Palisades is significantly older than the rest of LA – 23 percent of the 23,000 residents are aged over 65, versus 14 percent of the city as a whole.

It’s not inconceivable that comedian Billy Crystal, 77, and actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, 87-years-old, may be considering cutting their losses and moving on.

Hopkins bought his four-bedroom, five-bathroom property in 2019. The two-story colonial-style home was built in 1940, but renovated by the Welsh actor.

Oppenheim, whose Oppenheim Group has sold over $3 billion of real estate in LA, Orange County, San Diego and Cabo San Lucas, said one region in particular was attracting the attention.

‘Newport Beach is the biggest overspill,’ he said. ‘People are fleeing LA’s crime, homelessness and mansion tax. There’s a lot of new construction, and beautiful homes being built. It’s arguably the hottest market in America right now.’

Oppenheim – who bought a $7 million home in the Orange County city several years ago – said the area was ‘clean, safe, with no mansion tax and moderate political policies.’

‘It’s truly thriving,’ he said. ‘It’s been on a good run for at least three years now, but the wildfires have accelerated it. Pre-pandemic, the number of $5 million-plus properties sold in LA was three times that of Newport Beach. Now, Newport Beach is rivalling LA.’

Those who were considering a move have been given a shove.

James Respondek, whose real estate deals in the last 45 years have resulted in over $1 billion in sales, said many affected by the fires had relocated to their second homes to assess their options.

Eugene Levy, the 78-year-old Schitt’s Creek star, lost the Pacific Palisades home he paid $3.9 million for in 2006, but has his main residence in Toronto. John Goodman has for years resided mainly in New Orleans.

‘A lot have gone to New York while the dust settles, and then they will figure out what to do next,’ said Respondek.

‘It’s just like with everyone else – they are trying to sort it out, get the debris cleaned out first, and remove all that twisted steel and burnt cars and ashes. It’s a toxic warzone now; it’s awful.’

Respondek said his celebrity clients, like all those affected by the fires, were spending their time dealing with insurance claims, and trying to understand ‘how the city will be dealing with this’.

‘I think the energy is there to rebuild and come back – hopefully that sustains,’ he said. ‘It will, in the long term, be a better neighborhood than ever. But in the short term, a lot of people will probably not want to be in that environment of clean up and reconstruction.

‘These people are people of means. So they can live in other areas of LA, other states, even other countries.’

Respondek and Oppenheim were both adamant, however, that in five to ten years time, Pacific Palisades – flush with new state-of-the-art homes, infrastructure, schools and shops – will be one of the most desirable neighbourhoods in LA.

Laura Brau, a realtor whose own home burnt down in the fires, said she thought even the famous faces would return.

Her clients have included Channing Tatum and TV presenter Melissa Rivers: she said those afflicted by the fires were comforted by the fact that she was going through the painful process with them.

‘The Palisades is fresh air, waterfront, sunlight, ocean breeze – all those things will stay,’ she said. ‘There was a reason the celebrities were there in the first place: they were allowed to live normal lives, walking among us. That won’t change. Palisades people have a strong sense of pride: Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, doesn’t have that.’

Reality TV stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, whose beloved $2.5 million home featured in their show, are vowing to rebuild. Pratt has been promoting his wife’s singing career, touting the music online to raise funds for reconstruction. His parents’ home also burnt down; pushed out by impossible insurance costs, they have reluctantly decided to sell up. But Pratt is fighting to stay.

‘My energy’s like, get so rich that I can just come in and do what I gotta do to bring my world back,’ he told Curbed in February, saying he hoped to help the whole neighborhood where he grew up.

‘I would love to rebuild Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center that’s been there for 43 years. It burned down. Rosie Nails that’s been there for 41 years. Mila Skin Care, 34 years.

‘Heidi’s like, “Oh my God, you’re trying to buy this town?” I’m like, “No, I want to help these people rebuild.” So I can get my nails done. And get my town back.’

On Saturday, Walter and Alessandra Lopes began rebuilding their home in Pacific Palisades – the first people to do so.

‘It’s amazing to see,’ he told NBC LA. ‘With good people doing good work together, we’re finally seeing things coming up. We want to pass the message that there’s hope. We’re trying to motivate everyone to come back, too.’

the Lopes’ home should be completed in 10 months, and Brau said she was hopeful for the future.

‘Emotionally we want it to be much faster,’ she said. ‘But realistically it’s only been three months.’