Santa Monica, California Housing Market

How much can you negotiate in Santa Monica?

Only 28 out of every 100 homes for sale have found a buyer. The other 72 are still waiting. Your offer may be the only one on the table. Few sellers are dropping their price. Asking prices are holding firm. Your discount will come from one stale listing, not from the whole market.

A typical Santa Monica home takes 48 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago. There are 224 homes for sale in Santa Monica. That is 2.5 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 268. Supply is shrinking against last year.

What to do about it

• Start in 90401, 90404, and 90402. Those are the three softest ZIP codes in Santa Monica.
• Filter for homes listed 60+ days ago that have already cut their price.
• Offer below the reduced price.
• Keep your inspection and financing contingencies.
• In 90401 only 7 out of 100 homes have a buyer. You can lose a few offers there and still win.

Is now a good time to buy in Santa Monica?

Asking prices are 24.6% below their Mar 2023 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Santa Monica prices rose in just 53 of 108 months. Prices here mostly do not grow. Buy this market for rent income, not for appreciation.

This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.

Who will rent from you in Santa Monica?

Most Santa Monica households rent. 71 out of every 100 households are renters. That share has held steady for five years. Santa Monica added about 1,800 renter households in five years. Renter households average 1.7 people. Singles and couples rent here. Two bedrooms beat four.

Households grew 5% in five years. The housing stock grew 5%. The two are moving in step. 11.2% of homes sit empty. Tenants have options. Budget extra weeks of vacancy between leases.

The median Santa Monica household earns $118,397 a year. Incomes here have grown 3.4% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 22.7 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. A tenant on the median income can pay about $2,960 a month. That is the standard 30% affordability line. Rents above it thin your tenant pool fast.

That is the market, not your address. Run an address through the app to see its rent estimate and cash flow.

What numbers should you underwrite a Santa Monica deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +1.1%/yr. Santa Monica has grown about 1.2% a year for five years and for ten. That is a durable trend, not a boom artifact. It is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 1.6% over the last year. That is a timing signal, not a trend.
• Months of carrying cost — 2. A typical home takes 48 days to sell. Budget that long when you exit or refinance.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 8. About 13% of homes on the Santa Monica market right now have already cut their asking price. Assume you are one of them when you sell. Do not underwrite an exit at your asking price.
• Comp on this, not median price — $1,266/sqft. The average listing runs +39% above the median. Luxury homes skew it. Comp your own size class per sqft.
• Competition when you exit — -14%. That is how much the number of homes for sale shrank in a year. Your resale will face a smaller crowd than today's comps did.
• Price-to-income ratio — 22.7×. A typical home costs 22.7 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving.
• Tenant rent ceiling — $2,960/mo. 30% of the median household income of $118,397. Rents above this line shrink your tenant pool fast.

Is Santa Monica a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Yes, if you negotiate. Buyers have the upper hand in Santa Monica right now. 28 out of every 100 homes for sale have a buyer, 13% of sellers have cut their price, and a typical home takes 48 days to sell.

Are Santa Monica home prices going up or down?

Asking prices are 24.6% below their Mar 2023 peak. You are not buying at the top. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.

What price growth should I assume for Santa Monica?

Assume +1.1% a year. Santa Monica has grown about 1.2% a year for five years and for ten. That is a durable trend, not a boom artifact. It is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 1.6% over the last year. That is a timing signal, not a trend.

How fast are homes selling in Santa Monica?

A typical Santa Monica home takes 48 days to find a buyer. Half of them take even longer. Those sellers are paying to own a house they want to sell. Search for homes listed 60+ days ago.

Is Santa Monica a renters' market or an owners' market?

Most Santa Monica households rent. 71 out of every 100 households are renters. That share has held steady for five years. 11.2% of homes sit empty. Tenants have options. Budget extra weeks of vacancy between leases.

What rent can Santa Monica tenants afford?

A tenant on the median income can pay about $2,960 a month. That is the standard 30% affordability line. Rents above it thin your tenant pool fast. The median Santa Monica household earns $118,397 a year.

Which Santa Monica ZIP code has the most negotiating room?

90401. Only 7 out of 100 homes there have a buyer. 7% of sellers there have cut their price, and a typical home takes 70 days to sell.