With little vacant land left, developers and wealthy buyers are razing small, older houses in sought-after Southern California neighborhoods to build modern mansions. Those days of booming demolition and construction came during last decade’s housing bubble. Now, tear-downs are again on the rise in Southern California’s affluent communities, as a rebounding housing market triggers a residential reconstruction boom.

With little vacant land left, developers and wealthier buyers are snapping up small, older houses in sought-after locales, then leveling them to build modern mansions. The wave of demolition has revived criticism that the new homes tower over those next door and clash with neighborhood character. Residents complain that their once-quiet streets have become perpetual construction zones.

The upscale South Bay town of Manhattan Beach exemplifies the trend. Builders in the city pulled permits to demolish 84 residential units from July 2012 to June 2013, the latest available data. That’s nearly double the number pulled for the same period a year earlier. In August, one Manhattan Beach City Council member described the ongoing construction as a “tsunami.”.

The rebounding housing market has sparked the demolitions. In November, the median price for a home in Southern California was up nearly 20% compared with the same month a year earlier, according to research firm DataQuick. Builders such as Leonard are constructing houses “on spec,” confident that they’ll find buyers.

In other cases, wealthy homeowners are buying cottages, then hiring builders to knock them down and erect dream homes.

Source: latimes.com