Rancho Palos Verdes, California Housing Market

What stands out in Rancho Palos Verdes?

• The median asking price is $2,210,500: one of the priciest of 765 tracked cities. Entry costs are high, so cash flow is harder. Price growth has to do more of the work.
• The median household earns $179,469 a year: among the highest incomes of 765 tracked cities. Tenants can carry higher rents.
• Homes for sale are down 20% on last year: among the sharpest inventory declines of 765 tracked cities. Supply is shrinking, which shifts leverage to sellers.

Are Rancho Palos Verdes price gains broad or limited to a few ZIP codes?

Asking price per square foot in Rancho Palos Verdes is up 6.7% over the last year. Over five years the pace has been 2.7% a year. Underwrite closer to that than to the last twelve months.

What does a shrinking population mean for Rancho Palos Verdes landlords?

The population in Rancho Palos Verdes's ZIP codes fell 2.8% over five years. 9.2% of homes are vacant, higher than 70% of tracked cities. Households fell 2.1% while the housing stock changed +0.3%. Fewer households means a thinner tenant pool. Budget extra vacancy and buy where renters already concentrate.

Is now a good time to buy in Rancho Palos Verdes?

Asking prices are at their highest point on record. You are buying at the top. Underwrite it that way. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Rancho Palos Verdes prices have risen in 80 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

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

How does Rancho Palos Verdes compare with other California markets?

Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:

• Asking price: 6th priciest of 141. Rancho Palos Verdes is at $2,210,500. Closest: Los Gatos and Encinitas.
• Buyer competition: 38th least competitive of 138. Rancho Palos Verdes is at 0.34 buyers per home. Closest: Vallejo and Concord.
• Time on market: 6th longest time on market of 141. Rancho Palos Verdes is at a median of 74 days on market. Closest: Yucca Valley and Palm Springs.
• Price cuts: 29th fewest price cuts of 141. Rancho Palos Verdes is at 15% of sellers cutting. Closest: Covina and San Bernardino.

Who will rent from you in Rancho Palos Verdes?

Only 20 out of every 100 Rancho Palos Verdes households rent. This is an owners' town. The renter share is shrinking. Five years ago it was 22 in 100. Renter households here average 2.9 people. Families rent here. Buy bedrooms. Studios will sit.

The median Rancho Palos Verdes household earns $179,469 a year. Incomes here have grown 5.4% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 12.3 times the median income. Most locals cannot buy. That keeps rental demand deep. It also caps the rent they can pay. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $4,487 a month.

To see what one Rancho Palos Verdes address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

What is the fair market rent in Rancho Palos Verdes?

HUD sets one fair market rent for Los Angeles County. For fiscal year 2026:

• 1 bedroom: $2,085 a month. Up 0% on last year, up 81% since FY2016.
• 2 bedrooms: $2,601 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 75% since FY2016.
• 3 bedrooms: $3,298 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 64% since FY2016.
• 4 bedrooms: $3,672 a month. Down 1% on last year, up 65% since FY2016.

The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Los Angeles County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.

What numbers should you underwrite a Rancho Palos Verdes deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +2.7%/yr. Rancho Palos Verdes has grown about 2.7% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 6.7% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Months of carrying cost — 3. Budget at least 74 days of holding costs, the current median listing age, when you exit or refinance. That is 16% longer than a year ago.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 7. 15% of Rancho Palos Verdes listings have cut their asking price. Underwrite your exit below asking.
• Competition when you exit — -20%. Homes for sale in Rancho Palos Verdes are down 20% on last year, so your resale faces less competition than today's comps did.

Read cash flow versus appreciation and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Rancho Palos Verdes?

The median asking price in Rancho Palos Verdes is about $2,211,000 as of Sep 2026, up 11.6% from a year ago. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Rancho Palos Verdes figures cover the 1 ZIP code with a Rancho Palos Verdes mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Rancho Palos Verdes a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Neither side has the upper hand in Rancho Palos Verdes right now. We compare Rancho Palos Verdes with 2017–2019 at this time of year: the typical listing has been up 34% more days; 15% of sellers have cut their price, against 18% then; there are 34 pending sales per 100 listings, against 39 then.

Are Rancho Palos Verdes home prices going up or down?

Asking prices are at their highest point on record. You are buying at the top. Underwrite it that way. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.

What is the best month to buy a house in Rancho Palos Verdes?

Across 9 full years, Rancho Palos Verdes asking prices ran lowest in January, about 4.0% below the year's average. They peaked in April. The most homes for sale show up in August, about 21% above the yearly average.

How long do homes stay on the market in Rancho Palos Verdes?

The typical Rancho Palos Verdes listing has been on the market 74 days. That is 16% longer than a year ago.

What price growth should I assume for Rancho Palos Verdes?

Assume +2.7% a year. Rancho Palos Verdes has grown about 2.7% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 6.7% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.

What is the fair market rent in Rancho Palos Verdes?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Los Angeles County is $2,601 a month for 2 bedrooms and $3,298 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.