Malibu & Beverly Hills Lead as Medians Rise as High as $13 Million
As has been the case across the country, L.A. County also saw sales decline after the buying frenzy of previous years. In fact, among the county’s top municipalities, sales declined by at least 23% (Pasadena) and as much as 37% (Manhattan Beach). However, from a pricing perspective, prices continued to climb, which was also evidenced by the fact that
L.A. County contained the highest concentration of expensive zip codes in the U.S. with 21 of the country’s 100 priciest zips.
Moreover, of the 10 municipalities that ranked neighborhoods among the county’s most expensive, eight locations saw prices increase. Of course, gains were more modest compared to previous years, but even so, medians gained at least 3% (Manhattan Beach) with Glendale topping out at a 14% year-over-year (Y-o-Y) appreciation.
Explore the interactive map below for at-a-glance price and sales insights into the 50 most expensive L.A. County neighborhoods in 2022:
42 of the 50 Most Expensive L.A. County Neighborhoods Logged Price Gains in 2022
Meanwhile, at the neighborhood level, changes were more dramatic: One Culver City area’s transactional activity was halved, while a Malibu neighborhood’s median sale price surged 143% over 2021 figures. As a matter of fact, prices were on the rise in 42 of L.A. County’s top 50 most expensive neighborhoods (which actually comprises 51 neighborhoods due to one tie in median sale prices). As a result of this sustained price growth, by the end of 2022, two L.A. County neighborhoods posted eight-figure medians.
For the full list of L.A. County’s 50 most expensive neighborhoods as well pricing and sales insights, explore the table at the bottom of the page.
Top 10 Most Expensive Neighborhoods in L.A. County: 2 Beverly Hills Areas Lead with $10M+ Medians
The county’s 10 most expensive neighborhoods were in four cities: Beverly Hills, Malibu, Los Angeles and Santa Monica — all locations expected to be among the region’s most exclusive. And, although other areas of the country also boast abundant pricey real estate, nothing quite compares to L.A. County’s sky-high medians. More precisely, its 10 most expensive neighborhoods had medians starting at $3,905,000 and topping out at a dizzying $13.25 million.
1. Beverly Hills Gateway, Beverly Hills – Median home sale price in 2022: $13,250,000
Well-established as one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the LA area, Beverly Hills Gateway became the #1 most expensive L.A. County neighborhood in 2022 after a 22% Y-o-Y price increase replacing Malibu Road. That said, Beverly Hills Gateway’s rise was also due to Malibu Road’s nearly $2 million median decrease from 2021’s impressive $12.3 million, as well as the fact that the latter closed only eight sales last year. Consequently, Malibu Road missed our 15-sale minimum threshold for calculating accurate price metrics for each neighborhood — a limit set to provide an accurate picture that’s not influenced by atypical transactions.
2. Trousdale, Beverly Hills – Median home sale price in 2022: $12,200,000
Just like Beverly Hills Gateway, Trousdale also inched up one position from 2021. In this case, the promotion was due to a 22% price increase, which lifted its median by $2.2 million in just one year. It’s also worth noting that, back in 2018 , Trousdale was the third-most expensive area in L.A. County with an $8.54 million median — a far cry from its current figures.
3. Beverly Hills Flats, Beverly Hills – Median home sale price in 2022: $9,474,000
Price trends remained fairly steady in Beverly Hills Flats, inching up 3% Y-o-Y ($274,000). But, just five years ago, this exclusive neighborhood was the county’s fourth priciest with a median that was $2 million lower.
4. La Costa, Malibu – Median home sale price in 2022: $9,000,000
Ranking as the #10-most expensive neighborhood in L.A. County, La Costa quickly climbed the rankings as its median sale price surged 143% Y-o-Y. This was, by far, the sharpest increase in pricing among the county’s 50 most exclusive neighborhoods, lifting La Costa from its 2021 median of $3.7 million.
5. Broad Beach, Malibu – Median home sale price in 2022: $8,073,000
Broad Beach also experienced a sharp price increase with its median rising 49% Y-o-Y for a $2.65 million gain. That marked the third-sharpest price increase among the county’s leading neighborhoods, while the number of sales was halved.
6. Point Dume, Malibu – Median home sale price in 2022: $7,000,000
Losing one position compared to 2021 due to the verticality of price gains in La Costa and Broad Beach, Point Dume nevertheless logged a 15% price increase. That lifted its median by more than $900,000. Notably, Point Dume’s median came in 37% higher than North of Montana, the next-priciest L.A. County neighborhood.
7. North of Montana, Santa Monica – Median home sale price in 2022: $4,378,000
Santa Monica’s sole presence in the top 10, North of Montana’s median rose $350,000 Y-o-Y, lifting it from 2021’s #9 position. Santa Monica placed one other neighborhood among the 50 richest neighborhoods in L.A. County with Sunset Park landing at #38. Sunset Park was also one of the eight neighborhoods on our list where medians ticked down — although just 1% for a mere $22,000 decrease.
8. Bel Air, Los Angeles – Median home sale price in 2022: $4,173,000
Eponymous with the lifestyle of the rich and famous, Bel Air ranked as the most expensive neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles. Specifically, Bel Air’s median sale price grew 24% Y-o-Y, lifting it from 2021’s #13 spot. What’s more, Bel Air was also one of 17 Los Angeles neighborhoods in the top 50, for the highest concentration of pricey neighborhoods in one city, as expected.
9. Big Rock Mesa, Malibu – Median home sale price in 2022: $4,000,000
Big Rock Mesa solidified Malibu’s dominance over L.A. County’s 10 most expensive neighborhoods as the famed beach city claimed four spots. Malibu was also represented by two other entries — Latigo Canyon at #11 with a $3.9 million median and Topanga Beach at #13 with a median sale price of $3,275,000.
10. Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles – Median home sale price in 2022: $3,905,000
The second entry from the City of Los Angeles among the 10 richest L.A. County neighborhoods, Pacific Palisades also had the most active sales market, closing 393 deals in 2022. However, that figure also represented a significant slowdown in transactional activity in this neighborhood, which closed 201 fewer sales than the previous year.
Prices Rose in 42 of L.A. County’s Most Exclusive Neighborhoods, While Sales Increased in Just 3
Of the 51 neighborhoods on our list (the result of one tie in pricing), 42 neighborhoods logged price gains. Of these, 30 were double-digit increases, with Malibu’s La Costa marking a whopping 143% jump.
Meanwhile, Windsor Square in Los Angeles claimed the second-sharpest price increase at 54% Y-o-Y, which lifted its median sale price from $2.37 million to $3.66 million. It was followed by the 49% price growth in Malibu’s Broad Beach. Notably, sales in both neighborhoods were halved and tied for the second-sharpest drop in transactional activity in our ranking.
Next, Malibu’s Latigo Canyon marked the fourth-sharpest price increase at 39%. This lifted its median sale price by $1.1 million to reach $3.9 million and tie with Sand Section in Manhattan Beach, both of which missed the top 10 by just $5,000. And, while Sand Section didn’t stand out in terms of price growth, its 49% decrease in sales tied with Alizia Canyon in Calabasas for the third-sharpest drop in sales.
At the same time, Culver City’s Lucerne-Higuera area logged the fifth-highest median sale price increase at 35% for a $558,000 gain. But, with 53% fewer home sales, this neighborhood had the sharpest drop in sales activity among L.A. County’s most expensive neighborhoods.
At the other end of pricing trends stood eight neighborhoods with Pasadena’s Oak Knoll in the lead: Its median sale price dropped 37% or $1.21 million Y-o-Y to close 2022 at $2,025,000. Manhattan Beach was home to the next two sharpest drops in pricing: The Hill Section area’s median decreased 22% or $905,000, while the Mira Costa neighborhood slid 14%, stabilizing at $2,325,000.
Similarly, the $1,625,000 median sale price of Peninsula in Long Beach was the result of an 8% price depreciation. Additionally, it was coupled with a 46% slowdown in sales activity — the fifth sharpest among the county’s 50 richest neighborhoods. Peninsula was followed by Greater Calabasas Park (-5%), as well as La Cienaga in Beverly Hills and L.A.’s Hancock Park, both of which were down 4% Y-o-Y.
Conversely, sales accelerated in just three neighborhoods, with Pasadena’s Linda Vista closing 9% more sales, Glendale’s Greenbriar up 7% and Old Town Pasadena’s sales ticking up 3%. And, El Porto in Manhattan Beach logged 23 deals, remaining flat year-over-year.
Calabasas, Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach and Pasadena Contribute 21 of L.A. County’s Priciest Neighborhoods
As for the six other municipalities to contribute neighborhoods to the top 50 but did not manage to rank among the 10 most expensive, they still reached impressive medians in 2022. For example, Manhattan Beach, just missed the top 10 with the Sand Section area, with its $3.9 million median a mere $5,000 shy of making the list. It was one of six Manhattan Beach neighborhoods to rank among L.A. County’s most expensive, including two of the eight neighborhoods where medians declined: Hill Section and Mira Costa.
The priciest neighborhood in Calabasas was Alizia Canyon at $2.8 million, up $400,000 over 2021 figures. It was also one of the cities to undergo one of the most noticeable slowdowns in sales activity among L.A. County’s richest neighborhoods. It was joined by Monte Nido at $2.6 million, Greater Calabasas Park at $2.02 million and the Greater Mulwood – North Mulholland area at $1.68 million.
Pasadena was similarly represented by four neighborhoods, with Linda Vista its most expensive at a $2,575,000 median sale price. Linda Vista, along with Old Town Pasadena ($1,585,000) were two of the three neighborhoods among L.A. County’s most expensive where sales accelerated in 2022 compared to 2021. Pasadena also ranked with Lower Arroyo Seco ($1,625,000) and Oak Knoll. The latter was one of just a handful of the county’s most exclusive neighborhoods where prices declined, with its 37% year-over-year decrease the sharpest.
Another L.A. County city with four entries was Culver City, with its most expensive area, Park East, the #23 priciest in the county at $2,173,000. It was joined by the $1,597,000 Blanco – Culver Crest area, as well the Lucerne – Higuera and Park West, which saw some of the fastest declines in transactional activity among the 50 most expensive L.A. County neighborhoods.
Glendale and Long Beach rounded out our ranking with one and two entries, respectively. Glendale’s Greenbriar landed at #23 with a $2,235,000 median sale price and as the third neighborhood where sales accelerated last year. Long Beach was represented by the $1,724,000 Naples neighborhood at #41 and the Peninsula area at #47 with a median sale price of $1,625,000.
Methodology
Median sale prices were calculated based on closed residential property sales recorded between January 1 and December 1, 2021, and January 1 and December 31, 2022. Residential asset types included single family homes, condos and co-ops. Package deals were excluded.
Median sale prices were only calculated for neighborhoods that recorded at least 15 sales between January 1 and December 31, 2022. Likewise, year-over-year changes in median sale prices or the number of sales were only calculated for neighborhoods that also recorded a minimum of 15 sales between January 1 and December 31, 2021. Median sale prices were rounded to the nearest $1,000.
Neighborhood-level median sale prices were calculated only for municipalities that recorded a minimum of 100 sales between January 1 and December 31, 2022. These included: Beverly Hills, Calabasas, Culver City, Glendale, Hawthorne, Inglewood, La Verne, Lakewood, Lancaster, Lawndale, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Pasadena, Pomona, Redondo Beach, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica and Torrance.
