Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With a population of 89,947, 46,207 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $2,246,806, Santa Monica house prices are not only among the most expensive in California, Santa Monica real estate also is some of the most expensive in all of America.
Large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Santa Monica, accounting for 67.26% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Santa Monica include single-family detached homes ( 19.01%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 10.60%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 2.97%). Cities that are predominantly high-density buildings are relatively uncommon in the US. Because of the density, these types of cities are often walkable and compact, and often have a lively downtown.
Santa Monica is dominated by renter-occupied one, two, or no bedrooms apartments. 71.73% of Santa Monica's dwellings are rentals.
At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Santa Monica's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 43.30% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Santa Monica include homes built between 1970-1999 ( 34.04%) and housing constructed before 1939 ( 12.90%). There's also some housing in Santa Monica built between 2000 and later ( 9.76%).
Vacant housing appears to be an issue in Santa Monica. Fully 11.61% of the housing stock is classified as vacant. Left unchecked, vacant Santa Monica homes and apartments can be a drag on the real estate market, holding Santa Monica real estate prices below levels they could achieve if vacant housing was absorbed into the market and became occupied. Housing vacancy rates are a useful measure to consider, along with other things, if you are a home buyer or a real estate investor.
Appreciation rates for homes in Santa Monica have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 110.08%, which ranks in the top 30% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Santa Monica house appreciation rate of 7.71%.
NeighborhoodScout's data show that during the latest twelve months, Santa Monica's appreciation rate, at 7.52%, has been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Santa Monica's appreciation rate has been 2.09%, which annualizes to a rate of 8.62%.
Relative to California, our data show that Santa Monica's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 60% of the other cities and towns in California.
One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Santa Monica differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Santa Monica - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 2000, to assist you in making the best Santa Monica real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
$2,246,806
for California
for nation
46,207
$3,626 / per month