By Claudia Backus, MBA | California Real Estate Broker | REALTOR®

I have called Pacific Palisades home for close to two decades, but January 7, 2025 changed what “home” means to me. That morning I went to work in Santa Monica while my three young children went to preschool in Venice, just like any other day. By the end of that day, our lives had changed in ways I could never have imagined.

The Palisades Fire partially damaged our home and displaced my children and me for 16 months. What I thought would be a temporary interruption became more than a year of waiting, repairing and trying to create some sense of normal life for three little children who simply wanted to know when they could go home.

In the beginning, my children did not understand why we couldn’t just go home, sleep in our own beds or play with their toys. For a while, I told them we were on vacation.

Eventually, I wanted to be honest with them in a way they could understand. I explained that there had been a big fire in Pacific Palisades and that lots of “Bob the Builders,” as we called them, were coming to help turn off the fires and rebuild our beautiful community one home at a time. They understood as much as small children could. But for months, when I picked them up from school, they would ask me the same simple question: “Mom, which house are we going to today?”

A Season of Incredible Kindness

There was a time during those months when I felt homeless and hopeless. We slept together on mattresses on the floor. We wore donated clothing. My children played with donated toys. We ate food generously provided by the YMCA and other organizations helping families affected by the fire.

At the same time, I witnessed something I will never forget. Friends, family, churches, nonprofits, local organizations and complete strangers stepped forward to help. They brought food, clothes, gift cards, school supplies and emotional support. Professionals donated their time and shared their knowledge. People checked on us and on one another.

During the same period that we lost the ability to live in our home, I also lost my job. I have always been a very independent person, and asking for help did not come naturally to me. But there came a point when I had to accept that I needed help, and I stopped feeling ashamed about asking for it.

That experience changed me. I started noticing the good in people much more than I noticed the bad. I became less interested in things and more interested in experiences and memories with my children. I became more grateful for ordinary days, because after you spend months wondering when you will be able to go home again, an ordinary day at home feels pretty extraordinary.

Most importantly, I wanted my children to learn from what had happened to us. I wanted them to see that difficult things happen in life, but that we can keep moving forward. I wanted them to learn kindness and gratitude through our actions, not simply because I told them those things were important.

Coming Back to Pacific Palisades

When we finally came home after 16 months, I returned to the same community, but I saw it differently.

There are still many empty lots throughout Pacific Palisades. Some streets are filled with construction trucks and workers. There is dust. There are nails and debris on the roads. I have already had two tires damaged by nails since coming back. Rebuilding an entire community is messy, noisy and inconvenient.

But when I drive through Pacific Palisades, that is not all I see. I see homes being rebuilt. I see businesses trying to recover. I see neighbors sharing information and helping each other navigate insurance, permits and construction. I see coalitions, nonprofits, churches and community organizations continuing to offer resources even long after the fire.

There are free community events, mental health resources, exercise classes, informational meetings and conversations about rebuilding and recovery. Accountants, attorneys and other professionals have volunteered their knowledge and, in some cases, their services.

And there is something special about seeing another family come home. We celebrate comeback stories because we understand what it took to get there. I find myself wanting to read local Pacific Palisades news because these stories are about people and places I recognize. They are about our neighbors and our community.

Of course, not everyone has experienced the aftermath of the fire in the same way. There is frustration, sadness and anger too, and understandably so. Families lost homes, belongings, businesses, jobs and a sense of security. Some people are still waiting for answers and making very difficult decisions about what comes next.

This is simply what I have noticed through my own experience. Maybe going through the fire changed what I choose to notice.

Rebuilding Is About More Than Houses

Since returning, I have also become much more intentional about where I spend my money. If I can buy groceries in Pacific Palisades, I do. If I am meeting someone for coffee, I try to meet them here. When I need a gift, I like buying gift cards from local businesses.

These are small decisions, but I now understand that rebuilding Pacific Palisades is about much more than rebuilding houses. A community also needs its restaurants, coffee shops, stores, schools, churches, organizations and local businesses. It needs families walking around again. It needs children playing. It needs people spending money locally. It needs people who believe there is a future here.

That brings me to something I think about often now: What is Pacific Palisades becoming?

I don’t think anyone knows the complete answer yet.

What Does This Mean for Pacific Palisades Real Estate?

As a California real estate broker and a Pacific Palisades resident, I look around and see a real estate market going through something very unusual.

There are homeowners who are determined to rebuild. There are others who may decide that after everything they have been through, they simply cannot or do not want to go through a lengthy rebuilding process. Some may decide to sell their lots.

Some families will come back. Some will decide to stay in the communities where they lived while displaced. Some may sell surviving homes and start somewhere new.

At the same time, there are buyers who want to live in Pacific Palisades and investors looking at vacant lots, new construction and opportunities created by a neighborhood that will be changing for years.

Every one of those decisions becomes part of the future real estate landscape of Pacific Palisades.

An empty lot is not just an empty lot. Behind it may be a family trying to decide whether to rebuild the home they loved, sell the property, wait, or take their lives in a completely different direction.

A new house being built is not simply new construction. It is another piece of a neighborhood coming back. And someone buying a home or lot here today is buying into a community that is still rebuilding around them.

That means buyers need to ask different questions. What is being rebuilt nearby? How might years of construction affect a particular street? What should they understand about insurance? What is planned for surrounding lots?

Sellers have different questions too. Should they rebuild before selling? Should they sell the lot? What is the land worth today? Who is buying? What are other properties actually selling for? What options do they have if they want MLS exposure but do not need traditional full service representation?

There is no single answer that is right for everyone. And I think that is exactly why good real estate guidance matters right now.

The Fire Changed My Why

The fire changed many things in my life, including why I want to use my real estate experience and knowledge to serve others. My purpose as an independent real estate broker is to help people understand their options and make informed real estate decisions, especially during a time when so many families and property owners in our community are deciding what comes next.

I am an independent real estate broker, but I am also a mom raising three children in Pacific Palisades. I shop here. I drive these streets. I see the construction. I see the empty lots. I see families coming back. I also know what it feels like to wonder when, or if, life will ever feel normal again.

My goal is not to tell every homeowner that they should sell or every buyer that they should buy. My goal is to serve people by helping them understand their real estate options.

That might mean helping a homeowner sell a house or vacant lot. It might mean helping someone understand what similar properties have sold for before deciding what to do. It might mean helping a buyer find a home here. It might mean working with an investor who sees an opportunity to build. And because I am an independent broker, I can offer different levels of real estate service and pricing depending on what a client actually needs.

That is also one of the reasons I am starting this blog. I want to write about the real questions people are asking about real estate in Pacific Palisades and the Westside. I want to research those questions, explain what I learn in plain English and share information that can help homeowners, buyers and investors make informed decisions.

I don’t know exactly what Pacific Palisades will look like five or ten years from now. But I know what I see today.

I see empty lots next to homes where families have returned. I see construction crews rebuilding one property at a time. I see local businesses trying to make it. I see neighbors checking on neighbors. I see families celebrating when they finally come home.

And when I look at my own three children sleeping in their own beds again, surrounded by their own toys, I understand just how much the word “home” can mean.

After almost two decades of living in Pacific Palisades, I thought I already knew this community. It took losing our home for 16 months to make me realize how much this community truly feels like home.

Claudia Backus, MBA
California Real Estate Broker | REALTOR®
Pacific Palisades, California

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home or lot in Pacific Palisades or the Westside, or you simply do not know what your next real estate step should be, I am happy to talk through your options with you.