Celebrity realtors decry price gouging amid Los Angeles wildfires

As fires in Los Angeles continue to cause widespread destruction, many celebrity real estate agents are trying to find clients new places to live.

“I’ve been searching the MLS (directory) trying to help displaced families from the fires find rental properties,” Selling Sunset star Jason Oppenheim he said in the Instagram story video in January 2025 “I see dozens of examples of people trying to do this kind of thing, where they can’t get $9,500 or even $9,000, and then yesterday they raised the rent by over 30 percent to $12,000.”

The Oppenheim Group founder noted that while he is “all for free market capitalism,” he believes the rising costs are the result of people “obviously taking advantage” of a natural disaster.

California has an anti-price gouging law, which means it is illegal to raise costs during an emergency.

“The Legislature hereby establishes that during a state of emergency or local emergency, including, but not limited to, earthquake, flood, fire, insurrection, storm, drought, plant or animal infestation or disease, pandemic or outbreak of epidemic disease or other natural disaster or man-made disasters, some retailers have taken unfair advantage of consumers by greatly increasing the prices of basic consumer goods and services,” part Article 396 of the Criminal Code reads “Although the determination of the prices of consumer goods and services is generally best left to the market under normal conditions, when a declared state of emergency or a local emergency results in unusual disturbances in the market, the public interest requires that excessive and unjustified increases in the prices of basic consumer goods and services be prohibited. “

The statute further provides that any violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for less than one year, a fine of less than $10,000, or a combination of the two.

Despite the state legal ruling, many local realtors still found that landlords were allegedly jacking up the prices of their properties in the midst of forest fires. Keep scrolling to see what the stars had to say:

Jason Oppenheim

“There are price gouging laws in California, they are being ignored right now, and this is not the time to take advantage of the situation,” Oppenheim he told the BBC in January 2025. “The whole day everyone has tears in their eyes, literally from the smoke, but also just because it’s emotional to see people fighting like this.”

Oppenheim’s brokerage is too donated her services help displaced clients find accommodation at no additional cost.

Chrisshell Stause

Viewing her Instagram Stories on January 10, 2025, Oppenheim’s colleague called the behavior “disgusting.”

“Other realtors who have a moral compass, let them report to the board,” she said.

In the following post, Stause noted that she kept seeing examples of price gouging while researching MLS properties on the market.

Josh Flagg

The Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles the star spoke about the price hike in an interview for January 15 Fox News.

“People (who) haven’t advertised their homes before are taking advantage right now because you can ask for anything you want for a house,” Flagg said. “You just can’t, then a natural disaster happens, and then you triple the price. That’s the problem.”

According to Flagg, “there is not enough inventory” to house all the individuals displaced by the fire.

“Right now this is very scary. But at the end of the day, everyone will have somewhere to go. Now it’s just being established and everyone is getting ripped off,” he told the newspaper. “It’s like any disaster. At first it’s a nightmare, but then everything takes care of itself. But it’s no fun while you’re waiting.”

Josh Altman

Flagg’s ex MDLLA Costar told Fox News that the situation is “much worse than you can imagine.”

“There’s not a lot of inventory in the beginning, and now all of a sudden you have over a thousand new people in the market, whether they’re buying or renting, depending on their financial situation and depending on their family situation,” Altman said. “It will be years until this is sorted out, until the houses are finished. I mean, it will take two years to build the house. It will take a year to get the permits.”

Check it out LAFD website for local reports on forest fires and click here for resources on how to help those affected.