Homebuyers and sellers: What the Zillow fiasco can teach you about property pricing

NextShark

Rent prices tripling in an LA Chinatown apartment building means residents face possible homelessness

The Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to vote today on plans to buy a 124-unit Hillside Villa apartment building in Chinatown amid huge rent hikes that would make the property otherwise unaffordable to its current residents. The pending city council vote is two years in the making, during which its many low-income residents have been urging the city to purchase the building from its current owners, the Botz family. Hillside was previously under an affordability covenant that kept its rent low for the past 30 years; however, with the covenant expired, the Botz can raise prices according to market rates.