Roxana Poenar 
Key Takeaways:
- L.A. County’s most expensive place to call home is Malibu Colony Beach
- Beverly Hills’ exclusive Trousdale Estates lands the second spot
- 6 neighborhoods in the top 50 boast median sale prices above the $5M mark
There seems to be no shortage of news related to California’s high housing prices and tight real estate market, where bidding wars are the norm for homebuyers. Our latest national ranking of priciest zip codes for homebuyers was no exception, as it revealed that California crushed the other states, snatching 72 out of the 100 spots. Though Atherton still holds the title of California’s priciest zip code, L.A. County’s notoriously expensive Santa Monica and Beverly Hills markets ranked fifth and seventh, respectively.
We’ve zoomed in on the Los Angeles housing market to determine the county’s 50 most expensive neighborhoods for homebuyers, based on sales data for the first half of 2017. The list is riddled with famous places and exquisite views, most of them unattainable for the average buyer.
Malibu steals the spotlight, with Malibu Colony Beach as the most expensive place to call home. During the first half of 2017 seven deals closed in the neighborhood at a median sale price of $15,725,000.
Beverly Hills commands the second position on our list with Trousdale Estates. Favored by celebrities like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, the area continues to be a celebrity hot spot. The exclusive neighborhood ended the first half of the year with 12 closed sales and boasted a median sale price of $8,499,500.
Beverly Hills occupies a total of 4 spots in our top 50. The North of Sunset Boulevard neighborhood ranked 4th, entering the top 10 with a total of 23 sales closed and a median sale price of $7,700,000. The Flats ranked 5th, with a median sale price of $7,467,500 while South of Santa Monica Boulevard landed a more modest spot, ranking 24th on our list with a median sale price of $2,724,000.
Malibu’s Cove Colony ranked third, with 8 sales closed at a median sale price of $8,012,500. Three other Malibu neighborhoods made the top 10, with median sale prices ranging from $3,550,000 in Malibu Park (#10) to $3,922,500 in Point Dume (#9) and $6,965,000 in Broad Beach (#6).
Here you can find the top 10, don’t forget to scroll down for the full top 50 most expensive neighborhoods.
The only neighborhoods in the top 10 that are not part of either Malibu or Beverly Hills are Santa Monica’s North of Montana (#7), with a median sale price of $4,500,000, and Bradbury (#8), with a median sale price of $4,300,000.
The city of Los Angeles didn’t make it into our top 10, but it does feature 12 neighborhoods in the top 50. Most of these neighborhoods experienced year-over-year price gains, apart from Beverly Grove and Westwood, where median sale prices dropped 6% and 9%, respectively.
Check out the complete top 50 priciest places for homebuyers in Los Angeles County below:
| # | City | Neighborhood | Median Sale Price | Transactions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Beverly Hills | The Flats | $7,467,500 | 30 |
| 4 | Beverly Hills | North of Sunset Blvd | $7,700,000 | 23 |
| 24 | Beverly Hills | South of Santa Monica Blvd | $2,724,000 | 42 |
| 2 | Beverly Hills | Trousdale Estates | $8,499,500 | 12 |
| 8 | Bradbury | Bradbury | $4,300,000 | 7 |
| 49 | Calabasas | Greater Calabasas Park | $1,713,750 | 62 |
| 33 | Calabasas | Alizia Canyon | $2,200,000 | 15 |
| 21 | Hidden Hills | Hidden Hills | $2,750,000 | 17 |
| 47 | La Canada Flintridge | La Canada Flintridge | $1,749,000 | 142 |
| 43 | Long Beach | Peninsula | $1,800,000 | 5 |
| 17 | Los Angeles | Bel Air | $3,025,000 | 71 |
| 48 | Los Angeles | Venice | $1,718,000 | 162 |
| 40 | Los Angeles | Beverlywood | $1,893,500 | 52 |
| 26 | Los Angeles | Hancock Park | $2,600,000 | 49 |
| 37 | Los Angeles | Hollywood Hills West | $1,981,250 | 194 |
| 44 | Los Angeles | Beverly Grove | $1,795,000 | 71 |
| 14 | Los Angeles | Brentwood | $3,182,500 | 150 |
| 32 | Los Angeles | Beverly Crest | $2,240,000 | 110 |
| 15 | Los Angeles | Pacific Palisades | $3,164,750 | 178 |
| 27 | Los Angeles | Westwood | $2,500,000 | 60 |
| 31 | Los Angeles | Cheviot Hills | $2,260,500 | 70 |
| 30 | Los Angeles | Windsor Square | $2,300,000 | 29 |
| 16 | Malibu | La Costa | $3,044,000 | 8 |
| 6 | Malibu | Broad Beach | $6,965,000 | 5 |
| 1 | Malibu | Malibu Colony Beach | $15,725,000 | 7 |
| 3 | Malibu | Cove Colony | $8,012,500 | 8 |
| 20 | Malibu | Big Rock Mesa | $2,795,000 | 9 |
| 9 | Malibu | Point Dume | $3,922,500 | 26 |
| 10 | Malibu | Malibu Park | $3,550,000 | 9 |
| 29 | Manhattan Beach | Tree Section | $2,400,000 | 85 |
| 19 | Manhattan Beach | Sand Section | $2,935,000 | 75 |
| 12 | Manhattan Beach | Hill Section | $3,315,000 | 21 |
| 41 | Manhattan Beach | El Porto | $1,825,000 | 7 |
| 34 | Manhattan Beach | Mira Costa | $2,154,250 | 44 |
| 39 | Palos Verdes Estates | Malaga Cove | $1,915,000 | 17 |
| 25 | Palos Verdes Estates | Monte Malaga | $2,677,500 | 24 |
| 36 | Palos Verdes Estates | Lanuda Bay | $1,995,000 | 49 |
| 46 | Palos Verdes Estates | Country Club | $1,750,000 | 15 |
| 11 | Pasadena | Oak Knoll | $3,482,000 | 10 |
| 23 | Rolling Hills | Rolling Hills | $2,725,000 | 12 |
| 38 | Rolling Hills Estates | La Cresta | $1,940,000 | 23 |
| 35 | San Marino | Mission District | $2,025,000 | 18 |
| 22 | San Marino | Lower Huntington | $2,726,000 | 12 |
| 13 | San Marino | Poet's Quarter | $3,254,000 | 6 |
| 18 | San Marino | Lacy Estates | $3,000,000 | 5 |
| 45 | Santa Monica | Ocean Park | $1,760,000 | 13 |
| 42 | Santa Monica | Mid-City Santa Monica | $1,820,000 | 8 |
| 28 | Santa Monica | Wilshire - Montana | $2,475,000 | 25 |
| 7 | Santa Monica | North of Montana | $4,500,000 | 43 |
| 50 | Santa Monica | Sunset Park | $1,700,000 | 56 |
Methodology: to determine which were the most expensive neighborhoods in California, we looked at all residential transactions closed between January 1st, 2017 and June 30th, 2017, for single- and two-family houses. All package deals were excluded.
Data on small neighborhoods is now included in stats for larger areas. For example: Malibu Road and Malibu Beach Colony are taken as a single neighborhood. Also some small areas like Bradbury and Rolling Hills were considered as a single neighborhood.
