SoCal’s High-End Resi Market Continues to Lurch

It’s almost painfully quiet this year in L.A.’s high end.

That’s all relative, of course. While brokerages are seeing price reductions and fewer head- turning, megadeals in the vein of recent years, some have also said they’re making up for that with bigger numbers of smaller transactions.

Rayni Williams, CEO and co-founder of the Beverly Hills Estates, said her brokerage’s first quarter was more “robust” than the last four comparable periods, despite recent macroeconomic headwinds.

“It does seem like people are figuring out and taking a little bit of a beat after the [Iran] war started and they’re proceeding a little bit more cautiously,” she said.

But, overall, brokerage co-founder and President Branden Williams said business has been busy so far this year.

Newport Coast sitting pretty

Newport Coast isn’t immune from what Southern California’s broader high end is seeing on price slashing.

Redfin data shows home prices in February were down nearly 21 percent compared to the year-ago period to hit a $3.1 million median.

Still, the tony enclave in Newport Beach remains Orange County’s top dog for the priciest deals so far this year.

Late last week Newport Coast saw the $30 million closing of 36 Pelican Crest Drive, located behind the gates of the Pelican Crest community. It’s notable considering the original asking price when the home hit the market in June was nearly $50 million, or $3,786 per square foot. The purchase price equated to $2,272 per square foot.

That’s a big difference, but also interesting is that the sale was Orange County’s third-priciest deal of the year. Within the top five deals for the County in 2026, all were for homes located in Newport Coast, according to Redfin data. Three of the five sold last month.

Going abroad while staying local

Among LA’s high end, being hyper local can have its pluses and minuses when clients have global real estate portfolios.

Looks like Beverly Hills Estates wants to address its own growth both here and abroad.

This week, the West Hollywood-based brokerage said it’s launching a new division called Malibu Estates that will be focused on transactions in the coastal community. It’s a market that’s seen its fair share of mega deals in more recent years, including the reported $210 million sale of Oakley and Red Digital Cinema Camera Co. founder Jim Jannard’s Malibu compound in 2024. Last year saw the $80 million, off-market trade of a multiparcel property at 28719 Grayfox that was the city’s priciest deal of 2025.

With Malibu Estates and last year’s launch of the Palisades Estates, the brokerage has plans to launch its next divisions focused on Eastside markets such as Los Feliz and Silver Lake and parts of the San Fernando Valley as soon as next year.

Even as the Beverly Hills Estates wants to continue to expand its footprint locally, it’s also keeping an eye on growing the brand overseas.

That’s why this past week, the brokerage and Savills said they’ve struck a deal to have the Beverly Hills Estates be the London company’s exclusive residential brokerage partner on the West Coast.

Carolwood Estates made a similar move back in January, when it struck an arrangement with Knight Frank. That, too, gave the Beverly Hills-based brokerage access to a global client base without the overhead costs of standing up its own office overseas.

Maybourne moves

The original owner of a unit at the Maybourne Beverly Hills is asking $23.5 million in what marks the first time the property has been on the market since the building was completed, initially as the Montage Beverly Hills.

The property was later renamed to Maybourne following the property’s sale to Maybourne Hotel Group in a 2019 deal, which also includes the attached hotel, valued at more than $400 million.

Ohana Real Estate Investors holds the listing for the nearly 4,700-square-foot unit 7C, although representatives declined to discuss buyer details.

Last October, a trust linked to Gustavo Marquez, owner of food products maker and distributor Marquez Brothers International, sold unit 8E for $27 million, or $4,762 per square foot, in what marked the priciest known deal at the Maybourne.

It unseated the 2021 record set for the building when Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke plunked $23.8 million for a unit at the building.