A building lot in Pacific Palisades has got to be worth a few hundred thousand dollars.
Most likely a lot less then what one owes on it.
That was then. This is now.
At the moment, those lots are worth ZERO. You cannot build on them. You cannot even demolish and clear away the rubble. Water, sewer, and electric services have been disconnected or destroyed for many of the properties.
And the former homeowners are effectively bankrupt. The money is gone!
Sorting out that mess will be a huge effort, with a great deal of screaming behind closed doors in conference rooms. In the end, the banks, insurance companies, and the LA government are going to grab bailouts from taxpayers in all the other states to cover the losses.
The grifting opportunity in state-sponsored "redevelopment" projects ought to be truly spectacular. But the cities will not come back to what they were. Whatever recovery does happen will take a century or so to complete in forms that are unimaginable today.