Pricing Your Pacific Palisades Property: What Really Determines the List Price

When you are getting ready to sell a property in Pacific Palisades, whether it is a home, condo, or lot, one of the most important decisions you will make is the asking price.

There is one thing sellers need to understand from the beginning: Your property should not be priced based on what you “want” to get out of it or what you “need” to get out of it.

The market does not know what you paid for the property, how much money you put into it, or what you need from the sale. Pricing is based on the property, current market conditions, buyer demand, and ultimately, what a buyer is willing to pay.

Location Comes First

Location remains one of the biggest drivers of value.

Even within Pacific Palisades, two properties of similar size can have very different values. The street, views, walkability, privacy, lot position, and proximity to amenities can all influence what buyers are willing to pay.

Then you look at the property itself.

For a home or condo, I consider size, condition, design, updates, floor plan, and flow. Does the layout work for today’s buyer? Is there good natural light? Does it have outdoor space, views, or another feature that makes it stand out?

For a lot, the considerations are different: location, lot size, views, topography, what can potentially be built, and how it compares with other available lots.

Buyer Demand Is Part of the Price

The next question is: What is buyer demand for this type of property right now?

A beautifully updated home in a great location with a floor plan buyers want may command a premium. Ocean views, walkability, a great backyard, or another hard-to-find characteristic may also create stronger demand.

But having a desirable property doesn’t mean you can simply choose the price you want.

Sellers often say, “My neighbor sold for $4 million, and my house is better.”

Maybe it is. But when did that property sell? What was its condition and location? What was the inventory at the time? How many buyers were competing for it? And what else can a buyer purchase today for the same amount of money?

A comparable sale is important information, but it does not automatically establish your property’s value.

Market Conditions Change

There are times when unusual circumstances create extraordinary demand and push prices higher. Sellers need to recognize that those prices don’t necessarily establish a permanent new value.

COVID was a good example. People’s homes suddenly became their offices, their children’s schools, and much of their recreational space. Buyers wanted more square footage, home offices, larger backyards, pools, and outdoor areas.

That increased demand for certain properties in Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and Brentwood. But as lifestyles changed again, that extraordinary level of demand changed with it.

We saw another unusual market immediately following the January 2025 Palisades fire.

Thousands of people were displaced at once, creating enormous demand for housing on the Westside, particularly in Santa Monica and Brentwood. I experienced this firsthand when I sold a Santa Monica home at an exceptionally strong price because demand for that particular property and location was so high.

The sale and the price were real. But so were the extraordinary circumstances that produced them.

That is why you cannot look at a sale from a different market and automatically assume your property should achieve the same result today.

Fall 2026 Is a Different Market

Today, buyers are making decisions in a different environment. Higher borrowing costs, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical events are affecting confidence and purchasing decisions.

There are buyers, but there may be fewer buyers for your particular property at your particular price.

That makes pricing correctly from the beginning even more important.

We are seeing properties start too high, sit on the market, and then go through price reductions. Eventually, a seller may arrive at the price the market was indicating from the beginning, but by then the property has lost the advantage of being new.

Inherited Properties Are No Different

This is particularly important when selling an inherited property.

An executor, trustee, or beneficiaries may have expectations about how much they want or need to receive from the sale. But those expectations do not determine market value.

The question is still: What is the property worth in today’s marketplace, and what will a qualified buyer realistically pay for it?

The financial needs of the seller or beneficiaries do not change the property’s market value.

Price for the Market You Are In

This is why your real estate agent needs to have a close pulse on the market, not simply pull a group of comparable sales.

You need the closest and most relevant comps, but you also need to understand the story behind them. When did they sell? What else was available? How strong was buyer demand? What has sold since then? What is sitting today? Which properties have had price reductions?

When I advise sellers on pricing, I look at the entire picture: location, comparable sales, current competition, condition, size, floor plan, views, lot characteristics, unique features, and current buyer demand.

Supply and demand drive value.

If a property has been properly exposed to the market and isn’t selling, price is often the primary issue. That doesn’t mean every property needs to be priced low. It needs to be priced appropriately for what it is and for the market in which it is being sold.

Focus on What You Can Control

As a seller, you can control how well your property is prepared, presented, and marketed. You can make it look its absolute best, maximize its exposure, and highlight the characteristics most likely to attract buyers.

What you cannot control is what the market is willing to pay.

And buyers aren’t picking numbers out of a hat. Their agents are looking at comparable sales, current inventory, and market conditions before advising them on an offer.

The seller has a say in the asking price, but the seller doesn’t get to dictate the property’s market value.

When considering selling, focus on what you can control: preparation, presentation, exposure, marketing, and pricing the property at a level that gets buyers through the door.

Then let the market tell you what your property is worth.