Westside Los Angeles
Taylor Avakian and The Group CRE specialize in selling apartment buildings on the Westside of Los Angeles: Santa Monica, Venice, Mar Vista, Culver City, Palms, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. The team works from Century City as part of Lyon Stahl Investment Real Estate, has closed more than $488 million in Los Angeles multifamily sales and has sold Westside buildings in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Palms and Pico-Robertson.
Track record
Five Westside sales under three sets of rules: the City of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills each write their own rent and transfer tax laws, which is why pricing a Westside building starts with its address. At 863 S Bedford St we represented both the seller and the buyer.
| Address | Area | Units | Sale price | Cap rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 863 S Bedford St | Pico-Robertson | 8 | $2,310,000 | 6.04% |
| 3709 S Bentley Ave | Palms | 8 | $1,900,000 | 5.25% |
| 1014-1018 5th St | Santa Monica | 10 | $2,975,000 | 4.03% |
| 451 S Oakhurst Dr | Beverly Hills | 8 | $3,550,000 | 3.05% |
| 1259 Devon Ave | Westwood | 4 | $1,950,000 | 4.17% |
Figures as shown on each closed listing. See every active and sold building on our listings page.
Coverage
The Westside runs from the coast at Santa Monica and Venice east to Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, and from Pacific Palisades and Brentwood south to Mar Vista and Culver City. It spans the City of Los Angeles and four separate cities, so two buildings a mile apart can carry different rent rules and different transfer taxes. Our neighborhood guides cover each one in depth:
West LA, including the Sawtelle corridor, is inside the City of Los Angeles, so most apartment buildings first built on or before October 1, 1978 fall under the RSO, and sales above $5.4 million pay Measure ULA. Renter demand draws on Century City, UCLA and the E Line stations along Exposition Boulevard. Our H1 2026 report put West LA cap rates at 4.7% to 4.9%.
Palms is one of the most apartment-dense neighborhoods on the Westside, and it is inside the City of Los Angeles, with the RSO and Measure ULA. The E Line's Palms station and a short drive to Culver City's studio and tech employers support steady renter demand. We sold 3709 S Bentley Ave, an 8-unit building in Palms.
Westwood is inside the City of Los Angeles, with the RSO and Measure ULA, and it is shaped by UCLA: students, faculty and medical center staff keep demand high close to campus. Our H1 2026 report put the Beverly Hills, Century City and UCLA submarket at a 4.8% cap rate. We sold 1259 Devon Ave, a 4-unit building in Westwood.
Brentwood is inside the City of Los Angeles, so the RSO and Measure ULA apply on the same terms as the rest of the City. Most of its apartment buildings sit south of San Vicente Boulevard, toward Wilshire.
Rules by city
On the Westside, the city line decides which rent law applies and how much transfer tax a seller pays. This is how the five jurisdictions compare for older apartment buildings.
| Jurisdiction | Rent law | Measure ULA | City transfer tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Los Angeles (Venice, Mar Vista, Palms, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades) | RSO: buildings first built on or before Oct. 1, 1978 | Yes: 4% of the full price above $5.4M; 5.5% at $10.9M and up | 0.45% base, plus ULA |
| Santa Monica | Santa Monica Rent Control: two or more units built on or before April 10, 1979 | No | Measure GS: 0.3% below $5M; 0.6% from $5M; 5.6% at $8M and up |
| Culver City | Culver City rent control: two or more units completed on or before Feb. 1, 1995 | No | Measure RE: charged by slice, from 0.45% up to 4% above $10M |
| Beverly Hills | Beverly Hills rent stabilization: certificate of occupancy before Feb. 1, 1995 | No | None (County tax only) |
| West Hollywood | West Hollywood RSO: certificate of occupancy before July 1, 1979 | No | None (County tax only) |
| Sale price | City of LA | Santa Monica | Culver City | Beverly Hills or West Hollywood |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6.5 million | $289,250 | $39,000 | $134,250 | $0 |
| $8 million | $356,000 | $448,000 | $179,250 | $0 |
Santa Monica is far cheaper than the City of LA from $5.4 million to just under $8 million, then more expensive from $8 million until the City's 5.5% tier begins at $10.9 million. Below $5.4 million, Culver City's tax is higher than the City of LA's. LA County's 0.11% documentary transfer tax applies everywhere and is left out of the table.
Rates as of November 2026, from the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance, Santa Monica Measure GS, Culver City's transfer tax formulas and the LA County Registrar-Recorder. Confirm the rates in effect with your escrow officer before closing. For the full rules, see our LA multifamily regulatory guide.
Pricing
The Westside trades at some of the lowest cap rates in Los Angeles. In our H1 2026 market report, Westside submarkets ranged from about 4.6% to 5.0%, against 5.2% for the metro as a whole. Santa Monica had the highest price per unit in the report, about $540,000, against roughly $350,000 for the metro; Mar Vista was about $431,000 and West Hollywood about $415,000.
| Submarket | Cap rate |
|---|---|
| Venice | 4.6% |
| Santa Monica | 4.7% |
| West LA | 4.7% to 4.9% |
| Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood (UCLA) | 4.8% |
| Mar Vista | 4.9% |
| Culver City | 4.9% |
| West Hollywood | 5.0% |
| Los Angeles metro | 5.2% |
Source: The Group CRE, The State of LA Multifamily: H1 2026, published June 2026 with data current to the first quarter of 2026.
Low cap rates make value more sensitive to income. On a building with $200,000 of net operating income, the gap between a 4.6% and a 5.0% cap rate is about $348,000 of value, which is why rent rolls, expenses and the rent law that applies matter so much in Westside pricing.
Buyers
Most Westside buyers fall into three groups. 1031 exchange buyers want a long-term hold in a market with little new supply. Private families and long-time local owners add to holdings close to home. Value-add operators look for below-market rents and room to improve, and they price rent control, relocation costs and transfer taxes carefully.
We market Westside buildings to a network of more than 20,000 pre-qualified Los Angeles apartment investors, contact the most active buyers directly and then list on the commercial platforms where buyers search. Owners who need privacy can sell off-market, and long-time owners with a low tax basis can plan a 1031 exchange before the sale is priced. See how we sell an apartment building.
Get a free broker opinion of value from Taylor Avakian, priced against Westside sales and the rules of your city.
FAQ
Taylor Avakian and The Group CRE specialize in Westside Los Angeles apartment building sales, covering Santa Monica, Venice, Mar Vista, Culver City, Palms, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. The team works from Century City with Lyon Stahl Investment Real Estate, has closed more than $488 million in Los Angeles multifamily sales and has sold Westside buildings in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Palms and Pico-Robertson.
Only inside the City of Los Angeles: Venice, Mar Vista, Palms, West LA, Westwood, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. For sales closing after June 30, 2026, Measure ULA is 4% of the full price above $5.4 million and 5.5% at $10.9 million and up, on top of the City's 0.45% base tax. Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood are separate cities, so ULA does not apply there, although Santa Monica and Culver City charge their own transfer taxes.
It depends on the city and the year the building was built. In the City of Los Angeles, the RSO covers most buildings of two or more units first built on or before October 1, 1978. Santa Monica covers buildings of two or more units built on or before April 10, 1979; West Hollywood, buildings with a certificate of occupancy before July 1, 1979; Culver City and Beverly Hills, buildings from before February 1, 1995. Newer buildings that are more than 15 years old usually fall under the state's AB 1482 limits instead.
About 4.6% to 5.0% in our H1 2026 market report, with data current to the first quarter of 2026: Venice 4.6%, Santa Monica 4.7%, West LA 4.7% to 4.9%, Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood 4.8%, Mar Vista and Culver City 4.9%, and West Hollywood 5.0%. The Los Angeles metro figure was 5.2%.
It depends on the price. From $5.4 million to just under $8 million, Santa Monica is far cheaper: about $39,000 at $6.5 million against about $289,000 in the City of LA. At $8 million, Santa Monica's Measure GS rate becomes 5.6% of the full price, about $448,000 against about $356,000 in the City of LA, and it stays higher until the City's 5.5% ULA tier starts at $10.9 million.
Yes. Selling an apartment building and buying replacement property within the IRS deadlines, 45 days to identify and 180 days to close, can defer capital gains tax. Many Westside owners have held their buildings for decades, so we plan the exchange before we price the sale.
Request a free broker opinion of value. Taylor Avakian prices your building against recent Westside sales, your rents against market rents, the rent law that applies and the transfer tax your city charges. There is no fee and no obligation.
Keep reading
Information on this page is general and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Rent control and transfer tax rules change; confirm current rules with the city, your escrow officer and your tax advisor. The Group CRE is a team at Lyon Stahl Investment Real Estate (DRE 01972083); Taylor Avakian, DRE 02060040.
