Kirk Lazarus Asks $99K per Month for Santa Monica Estate

Kirk Lazarus, the designer behind ultra-luxe homes and resorts, is renting his Santa Monica home in what’s now one of the city’s priciest rental listings.

Lazarus, who is CEO and founder of Molori Design, is known for his high-end resort and home designs. The entrepreneur bought the property at 966 Palisades Beach Road in 2010, paying just under $4 million for it before embarking on a major renovation.

The home was rented out until 2022 after which the Miami-based Lazarus made some upgrades to the property, according to current listing agent Dan Malka of Engel & Völkers Beverly Hills. The Real Deal reported around that time there were plans to list the property for $25 million. The home came back on the market most recently in September for $22 million, but the listing was removed in April.

Kirk Lazarus Asks $99K per Month for Santa Monica Estate — 968 Palisades Beach Road (Engel & Völkers)

The beach-side estate, nicknamed Villa Molori, has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms across 6,647 square feet. Among the home’s highlights are 24-hour private security, theater, gym, massage room, steam room, pool, cold plunge and guest bedrooms touting their own bars and coffee stations.

The listing makes Villa Molori the priciest on-market rental in Santa Monica that’s available now. It comes in second, however, when factoring in a home that’ll be up for lease in mid-July, according to Zillow records.

That property at 707 Palisades Beach Road is over 8,000 square feet and is asking $125,000 a month. It’s available July 15 through Aug. 15, according to the listing. The country English-inspired estate has five beds, six baths, two half baths and a pool.

“There is definitely a shortage of inventory, especially in coastal cities,” Malka said of the appetite in Santa Monica’s high-end residential market. “Those affected by the fires want to stay close to their relatives and friends.”

Rental rates in the city commanding close to six figures or more aren’t wholly unusual, particularly in a post-wildfires landscape, where those who lost their homes continue to look for long-term housing solutions, according to Malka. Still, the two Palisades Beach Road properties are the only ones in that segment now. The next priciest rental after Villa Molori is located at 2219 Ocean Avenue, with a $75,000-per-month price tag.

For those who can afford to buy, homes in the North of Montana neighborhood were selling for $2 million to $3 million over their asking price in the weeks after the Pacific Palisades fire, Malka said. While that frenzy may have subsided, the demand is still there, the agent said.

“It is true that the activity has eased since mid-March, but most of the individuals who were impacted by the fires in the Palisades and Malibu are still looking for their long-term homes,” Malka said.

Land listings and sales in the Pacific Palisades could be indicative of “substantial changes” to the demography in the next five to 10 years, he went on to say.

“Many of [those impacted] are still living in hotels and short-term rentals and their insurance companies are renewing their lease every three months,” Malka said. “This creates constant waves of demand that we already saw in April, and we will continue to see over the year.”