Disney accused of fuelling housing crisis by hoarding street of pristine homes

Disney owns a street in California where no one lives. Photos: Getty Images

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There’s a block in Burbank, CA, that looks like the ideal American suburb.

There are low-slung homes with neat lawns and towering trees, pristine sidewalks, and circular driveways. The area is safe and quiet.

As a bonus, the magical Walt Disney Studios is across the street.

The only thing missing, for the most part, is people living there.

That’s because Disney’s impact on Burbank doesn’t stop at the walls of its studios. The corporation is also a homeowner, and it controls basically every classic cottage-style home on a stretch of Keystone Street across from its complex.

This makes Keystone, which is often used for filming or for temporary corporate housing, an extension of the Disney property – and the resulting loss of housing stock, even on one block, is part of what makes buying in the area so competitive.

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Keystone Street is just across the street from the studio. Photo: Getty Images

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The feel of the block

Driving down S. Keystone Street toward the Los Angeles River, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d driven straight onto a movie lot, or into some sort of suburban fever dream.

But the typical trappings of suburban life, or any life at all, are missing. You’re more likely to see Disney security guards patrolling the area than residents walking their dogs or trimming the hedges.

Disney reportedly began buying homes on Keystone in the 1990s. Residents in a 1991 Los Angeles Times article were quoted as feeling uneasy about the company’s expansion and motives. Now, according to reporter Dave Kunz, Disney owns every home on the east side of S. Keystone.

To many, this open secret is just another quirk of the neighbourhood. Commenters online have called the homes “Stepford houses” and described walking past them as “eerie.” It provokes ambivalent feelings among former residents, who seem to either lament the days gone by or appreciate the timeless feel of the upkept homes, or some combination thereof.

“I was around when they were owned by friends and neighbours. It’s weird that they are all the same as when I was growing up. I like that,” said Dana Tafoya-Cameron on Instagram.

The corner of Keystone and Parkside Ave in Burbank, CA, with Walt Disney Studios across the street. Photo: Google Maps

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The housing market in Burbank

Pull back from this close-up on a single street, however, and consider the bigger picture.

“I work with buyers in Burbank every day, and the inventory situation there is unlike almost anywhere else in L.A. County,” says Deborah Pisaro, the owner of Coastline 840, a luxury real estate brokerage in California. “It’s more competitive, full-stop.”

That’s because Burbank checks a lot of boxes for homeowners and prospective buyers. Compared to other parts of Los Angeles County, its median home price of $1.61m (US$1.16 million) is relatively affordable. It boasts top-rated schools, its own police and fire departments, and a genuine small-town feel within one of America’s major metro areas.

There is no such thing as a buyer’s market in Burbank. According to Realtor.com data, inventory in Burbank is up nearly 50 per cent over the past three years – and yet prices are holding at $1.61m (US$1.16 million), and homes are selling at 99 per cent of the asking price.

“Strong inventory growth signals that the market is heading in a more buyer-friendly direction, but even significant growth from a low base could mean that inventory is still relatively constrained,” says Realtor.com® senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones. “Put differently, inventory is recovering in Burbank, but the sale-to-list price data suggests that demand is keeping up with this recovery in supply.”

And Disney quietly holding these modest, post-war “Anytown, USA” properties off the market entirely isn’t helping.

“The Keystone situation shows what happens when homes get permanently absorbed out of the market,” says Pisaro. “Every house that gets quietly taken off the board by a corporate or institutional owner is one fewer option for the family trying to buy their first home in Burbank, which is dominated by families and industry professionals who have lived there forever. And in a market this tight, even losing a handful of listings can shift the math for buyers.”

Is Disney a boon or a barrier?

For current homeowners in the area, there’s a lot to like about having Disney as a neighbour, especially if you’re a fan of the business.

“Burbank has a huge contingent of Disney devotees-people who genuinely love everything Disney and a lot who have worked for Disney for years. For a lot of those residents, the idea that Disney maintains an entire block adjacent to the studio lot is actually kind of charming,” says Pisaro. “Disney keeps the properties immaculate, pays property taxes, and doesn’t cause problems.”

As a tourist attraction, as a monument to suburban living, as a reminder of Burbank’s past, the street is a win. But in an area hemmed in by mountains that take a bite out of buildable land, corporate ownership of homes that essentially function as a film lot and short-term stays for executives is potentially a bad look-particularly during a historic housing crunch.

There is no shortage of commenters online who have noticed that the company purchased residential property and turned it commercial. And if you’re a young family looking for entry into the market, a stretch of empty homes might start to look less endearing and more enraging.

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California. Photo: Getty Images

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Living a Disney life

Disney does have a knack for curating a residential feel. But unless you’re an executive visiting from out-of-town, it’s unlikely that you’ll be living in any of these Disney-kept homes for the foreseeable future. The best you can do is take a drive or a stroll down the street-whenever they aren’t shooting there.

There are other options. About a two-hour drive east of Burbank, in Rancho Mirage, CA, Disney has built the first of many planned “Storyliving” communities, where residents can buy in “new home communities … infused with the imagination of Walt Disney Imagineers and managed by Disney Cast members.” It includes an equestrian-themed dog park and kayaking on human-made Cotino Bay.

That means the magic of a Disney life is available-you just need to live somewhere else completely and shell out for it. Currently available home designs in Rancho Mirage are priced starting at $1.85 million (US$1.39m), with beach access available for an additional fee.