Insights

Selling Your Lot to an SB 684 Developer: What Owners and Agents Should Know

Oliver Thornton · October 24, 2026

General information only. This article is educational and is not legal, tax, financial, lending or investment advice. Do your own due diligence and confirm everything with your own qualified professionals before relying on it. Read the full disclaimer.

California’s SB 684 quietly changed what a lot of Los Angeles land is worth. A dated house on a multifamily-zoned lot used to be valued like any other house. Today, if that lot can be subdivided into six or more fee-simple homes, its value to the right buyer is set by what it can become. This guide is for owners, listing agents and wholesalers deciding whether a property is worth showing to an SB 684 developer.

Why SB 684 Changed What Your Lot Is Worth

Under SB 684, a qualifying lot can be split into as many as ten parcels and approved ministerially, with no hearing and no CEQA review. Each new parcel gets its own APN and a new home that sells individually to an owner-occupant. A developer looking at your lot is really looking at those future homes, so the more homes the site can carry, and the stronger the neighborhood they will sell in, the more the land is worth.

Does My Lot Qualify? A Quick Screen

Final eligibility depends on the local agency, but most of the screen can be done in a few minutes:

Location. An infill lot in the flats. We focus on Westside neighborhoods such as Culver City, Santa Monica, Mar Vista, Palms, Del Rey, West Los Angeles and Westchester, plus select coastal markets.
Size. At least 5,000 square feet, ideally 6,000 or more. The bigger the lot, the more homes it can carry.
Homes. Room for at least six fee-simple homes, each with at least one parking space.
Zoning. Multifamily zoning is preferred. A single-family lot can qualify under SB 1123 only if it is vacant.
Shape. Corner and street-to-alley lots are preferred; mid-block lots can still work.
Tenant history. Owner-occupied, or no rental history in the last five years, and no Ellis Act filing in the last fifteen.
Hazards. Not in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, and clear of the law’s other site exclusions.

How Developers Price SB 684 Land

Price follows the number of homes a site can carry and what each will sell for. As a rough guide to how we buy:

Homes the site can carry	Typical purchase price
6 homes	$800,000 – $1,500,000
8 homes	$1,500,000 – $2,200,000
10 homes	$2,000,000 – $3,000,000

These are typical ranges, not limits. The stronger the neighborhood and the higher each finished home will sell for, the more a developer can pay. On the Westside, recent SB 684 acquisitions in Culver City have closed in the $1,150,000 to $1,410,000 range for five- and six-home sites; you can see them on our Submit a Deal page.

What to Send for a Fast Answer

Only the address and your contact details are required, but the more you share, the faster you get a real answer:

Address and APN
Lot size and zoning, if known
Asking price, or the contract price and assignment terms for wholesale deals
Occupancy and tenant history over the last five years
Photos, a survey, or any plans already in progress

What Happens After You Submit

We review the site, zoning and comparable sales, and within two business days you get a yes, a no, or our questions. If it fits, we walk the property and make an offer. When the deal calls for it we can close quickly with cash or private financing, and we work with listing and buyer’s agents on both sides and honor the agreed commission.

For Agents and Wholesalers

If you see older homes on large multifamily-zoned lots in your farm area, you are looking at potential SB 684 sites. Many owners don’t know what their land is worth under the new law. Bringing us a qualifying property, on or off market, is often the fastest way to a clean sale. Submit a property here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a lot attractive to an SB 684 developer?
An infill lot of at least 5,000 square feet, ideally 6,000 or more, in a strong neighborhood, zoned for multifamily, with room for at least six fee-simple homes, no tenant history in the last five years and no Ellis Act withdrawal in the last fifteen.

How do SB 684 developers price land?
By what the site can become: the number of homes it can carry and what each finished home is likely to sell for, rather than the value of the existing house alone.

Do you pay agent commissions?
Yes. Assemble Capital works with listing and buyer's agents and honors the agreed commission.

Do you buy from wholesalers?
Yes. Send the contract price and your assignment terms with the property details.

Important Disclaimer

This article is published by Assemble Capital for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, accounting, lending, appraisal, real estate brokerage or investment advice, and it is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Laws, regulations, government programs, lending practices, market conditions and local procedures change often and vary by jurisdiction and by property. The information here may be incomplete, out of date or not applicable to your situation, and we have no obligation to update it.

No one, including investors, lenders, property owners, buyers, sellers, agents, brokers, wholesalers or developers, should rely on this article in making any decision. Before acting on any topic discussed here, independently verify the information and conduct your own due diligence with qualified legal, tax, financial, lending, appraisal and real estate professionals and the applicable government agencies.

References to projects, timelines, approvals, appraisals, financing, prices or market conditions are illustrative, may change, and are not predictions, promises or guarantees of any result. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Reading this article or contacting us does not create an attorney-client, advisory, fiduciary, agency, brokerage or other relationship with Assemble Capital, its affiliates or its principals. Assemble Capital makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of this content and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, disclaims all liability for any loss or damage arising from any reliance on it. Use of this site is subject to our Terms of Service and Risks & Disclosures.