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Santa Monica is its own city, not a Los Angeles neighborhood, and that changes the math on a purchase: its own school district, its own Rent Control Board and its own transfer tax. Gary Jacobs walks buyers through those three before they fall for a particular street.
Gary can pull recent sales block by block, from North of Montana down to Ocean Park and Sunset Park, so a buyer can see what a 1920s Spanish house actually trades for next to a new build.
Santa Monica was laid out in 1875 by Senator John P. Jones and Colonel Robert Baker on part of the old Rancho San Vicente y Santa Mónica, and it incorporated as a city in 1886. The map still reads like a timeline. Ocean Park, south of Pico near Main Street, holds many of the early beach bungalows and Craftsman houses. North of Montana has the bigger lots, a mix of 1920s-to-1950s traditionals and a steady run of rebuilds. Sunset Park, east of Lincoln near the airport, is mostly postwar single-story houses, while Mid-City and Wilshire-Montana carry a lot of the city's condo and apartment stock.
Daily life here happens on foot and on bikes more than in most of the Westside: Montana Avenue, Main Street and the Third Street Promenade for errands, the beach path south to Venice, and since 2016 the E Line from downtown Santa Monica to Culver City and downtown Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Airport is set to close at the end of 2028 under a 2017 agreement with the FAA, and what replaces it is a live question for Sunset Park and the blocks around it. Buyers here are usually also weighing Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Venice, and the decision often turns on the school district and the walkability more than on the house itself.
Market Snapshot
Live MLS numbers for Santa Monica, refreshed every night. The Free Market Report box lower on the page uses the same figures.
Homes, townhomes and condos (no rentals) from the MLS. These numbers refresh every night as listings go active, pending or sold. Last updated Nov 2, 2026 at 10:38 am.
Absorption rate shows how fast homes are selling. It takes the homes for sale today and divides them by the number of homes that sold per month over the last 12 months.
The answer is how many months it would take to sell every home on the market if no new listings came up. Under about 3 months usually means a seller’s market, 3 to 6 months is balanced, and over 6 months favors buyers.
Right now about 21% of the homes for sale in Santa Monica are selling each month.
See the full Santa Monica market report →
Based on 592 sales in the last 12 months. Charts cover the last 8 full quarters. Source: CSMAR MLS and its data-share MLSs. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
No. Santa Monica incorporated in 1886 and runs its own police, fire, building permits and planning. That matters at closing: the City of Los Angeles' Measure ULA transfer tax does not apply here, but Santa Monica has its own tiered transfer tax. Brentwood, Venice and Mar Vista all border the city, and some addresses near the line can look alike, so it is worth confirming the jurisdiction on the tax bill before comparing prices.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified (SMMUSD). Most students go on to Santa Monica High (Samohi), with Lincoln, John Adams and SMASH among the middle-grade options. In December 2025 the district board approved the agreements to split into separate Santa Monica and Malibu districts, so expect the name and some district-level details to change over the next few years. Elementary assignment is set by address, so check the district's boundary lookup for the specific house.
The city has had rent control since a 1979 charter amendment, administered by an elected Rent Control Board. For a buyer, the key points are:
Check the Board's record for the unit before writing an offer on anything with a tenant.
Santa Monica's city tax is tiered on the full price: $3 per $1,000 under $5 million, $6 per $1,000 from $5 million to just under $8 million, and $56 per $1,000 at $8 million and up, the top tier added by Measure GS in 2023. Los Angeles County adds $1.10 per $1,000. Who pays which piece is negotiable, and it is worth settling early on any sale near one of the thresholds.
The western part of the city is in the California coastal zone, so some projects there need coastal review on top of a regular building permit. State tsunami hazard maps show the beach, the pier and parts of Ocean Park inside the potential inundation area in a worst-case event. Most of the city sits well above that, but buyers near the sand should read the Natural Hazard Disclosure carefully and price insurance before removing contingencies.
Under a 2017 consent decree with the FAA, the city can close the airport after December 31, 2028. Until then, jet and propeller noise is part of life in parts of Sunset Park and nearby Mar Vista. The city has been planning a large park for the site, and the details are still being worked out, so a buyer near the airport is partly buying into a future that has not been fully decided.
The 10 Freeway starts here and runs east toward downtown, and the 405 is a few minutes inland. The E Line has stations at Downtown Santa Monica, 17th Street/SMC and 26th Street/Bergamot, which helps for trips to Culver City and downtown. Pacific Coast Highway heads north to the Palisades and Malibu. Many residents also work in Santa Monica itself, which is a big part of the appeal.
Yes. Gary Jacobs can pull recent sales for any Santa Monica street, separate the rebuilds from the original houses, and check the rent control status of a duplex or fourplex before you write an offer. He can also run the transfer tax at your price point so there are no surprises at closing.
The newest Santa Monica listings, straight from the MLS.
Active$1,199,0003895 3rd
Active$1,299,0001532 Berkeley Street, 1
Active$2,500,0001229 California Avenue, 1
Active$710,0002721 2nd Street, 111
Active$1,749,000914 2nd Street, A
Active$1,099,0001133 9th Street, 203
Active$2,649,000917 19th Street, 102
Active$945,0001436 20th Street, 8
Active$3,970,0001524 19thFree Market Report
Everything in the snapshot above, in far more detail: month-by-month prices, what sells at each price point, neighborhood-by-neighborhood numbers and who lives here. Homeowners also see recent sales of homes like theirs.
Homes for sale and closed sales (no rentals) from the MLS — CSMAR and its data-share MLSs. Updated Nov 2, 2026.
Full market report
Free, and it opens right away. No sign-in needed to read it.
Public and private schools that serve Santa Monica. Assignments go by exact address, so confirm with the district before you buy.
School assignments follow the street address, and districts adjust boundaries and offer transfers, so confirm the schools for a specific home with the district before you rely on them. Ratings and test scores open on GreatSchools.
Top-rated local spots in and around Santa Monica. Tap a category.
Ratings and details from Google. Refreshed monthly.
Read helpful resources and articles related to the area.
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Whether you are thinking about buying, selling, or just exploring your options, Gary Jacobs and his team are here to provide clear guidance and trusted local expertise across Los Angeles and Ventura County.
Schedule a ConsultationThe information being provided by Conejo Simi Moorpark Association of REALTORS® (“CSMAR”) is for the visitor's personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties a visitor may be interested in purchasing or leasing.
Information relating to properties referenced on this web site may originate from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) program of CSMAR. This web site may reference real estate listing(s) held by a brokerage firm other than the broker and/or agent who owns this web site.
Any information originating from CSMAR, relating to a property, regardless of source, including but not limited to square footages and lot sizes, is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be personally verified through personal inspection by and/or with the appropriate professionals.
Listing data originating from CSMAR is copyrighted by CSMAR and is protected by all applicable copyright laws. Any dissemination of this information is in violation of copyright laws and is strictly prohibited.
