The MDLLA Agents Break Down Why Mansions "Are Now Going to Be Extinct"
Tracy Tutor, Josh Altman, and Josh Flagg explain why a new ordinance is about to make buying (and selling!) luxury real estate in Los Angeles harder than ever.
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles has taught us a lot about California real estate over the past 15 Seasons, and because the market is always changing, there's always more to discover.
During Season 15, Episode 8 of the series, some more wisdom graced our ears thanks to Josh Altman ... and Heather Dubrow?! After she was shown a potential new Beverly Hills home by Josh, The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member made a comment about how we won't see many big properties in the area anymore thanks to new wildlife ordinances.
"That's actually, unfortunately very correct," Josh said.
She and the real estate professional concluded this was just another reason to buy this home — and get their building permits in — while they still could.
In a confessional, Josh Altman, Josh Flagg, and Tracy Tutor dug deeper into the topic and why it poses a challenge for their profession.
Josh Altman, Josh Flagg, and Tracy Tutor Explain the Wildlife Ordinance in Los Angeles
"So here's the deal. There's a new ordinance in Los Angeles and it's called the wildlife ordinance. It doesn't go into effect for six months or so. It's to preserve wildlife," said Josh Altman. "What it means is they're really only allowing you to build half of what you used to build before. So mansions, overall, are now going to be extinct."
This, of course, poses another challenge for an already complicated market.
"We already had this testy market in Los Angeles: ULA, interest rates. We're now restricted in what we can build on these estates to save some f-cking mountain lions," added Josh Flagg.
According to Tracy, the new rule will "make developers even more limited in what they can build."
"It'll take away basements, it'll limit the amount of property that can be built on a sizable lot," she explained.
The MDLLA Agents Explain the Los Angeles "Mansion Tax"
As previously mentioned, the new ordinance isn't the only thing impacting the agents' ability to do their job.
In the Season 15 premiere, Tracy and Josh Altman explained Measure ULA, a transfer tax also known as the "mansion tax."
"The citizens of Los Angeles voted to have a four percent tax on sales over $5 million," Tracy said in an interview, to which Altman added, "If you have a house 10 [million dollars] and up, you pay five-and-a-half percent when you sell the house."
In summary, Tracy declared, "Sellers don't want to sell, so that ruins our life."
Josh Altman Repped Heather Dubrow on the Purchase of Her New House
As we know from the MDLLA episode and Season 18 of RHOC , Heather did indeed take the 8.3-acre property and is in the midst of renovations (they must've gotten those permits in).
"I'm always looking for a new project," she said during the RHOC Season 18 premiere. "After we sold our Crystal Cove house, we bought this house in Beverly Hills. They really wanted in the low 40s and we got it for $16 million."
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