Malibu

The short version

Median price

$4.25M–$4.8M

ZIP codes

90265, 90263

Region

Malibu Coast

County

Los Angeles County

Schools covered

5 rated

Detached-house figure. Public-market data through mid-2026 puts the Malibu single-family median around $4.25M on a trailing-twelve-month basis and $4.8M for June 2026 closings, down roughly 13% year over year. Read any lower citywide number carefully — medians that fold in burned lots and all property types run far below the detached figure, and the two corridors diverge sharply.

About Malibu

Malibu is a separate city, not a Los Angeles neighborhood — incorporated in 1991, covering 19.8 square miles and roughly 27 miles of Pacific Coast Highway between the Santa Monica border and the Ventura County line. That structural separation matters more than it sounds: Malibu runs its own planning department, shares the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District with Santa Monica, and sits outside LA City's Measure ULA transfer tax — a meaningful advantage at the price tier where Malibu concentrates. Since the January 2025 Palisades Fire destroyed roughly 720 Malibu homes, the city has effectively been two markets at once: a slow, complicated recovery market in the burned corridors, and an unburned premier market in Point Dume, Paradise Cove, Broad Beach, Malibu Colony, and Serra Retreat that never stopped trading.

Where Locals Actually Eat

Hidden gems and city-specific favorites — no chains.

• Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market & Patio Cafe — fish market and open-air patio on PCH since 1972; order at the counter, eat above the water.
• Taverna Tony — Greek institution tucked into the back of the Malibu Country Mart; live music and belly dancers on weekends.
• Tra di Noi — white-tablecloth Italian on Cross Creek Road; handmade pasta, and the reason locals stop pretending they cook.
• Paradise Cove Beach Cafe — the one that is literally on the sand at Paradise Cove; breakfast from 8am, and worth the parking fee.
• Geoffrey's Malibu — the cliffside special-occasion anchor on PCH — ocean views, seafood, and a long Malibu history.

Just Opened

New to Malibu — restaurants, businesses, and entertainment that weren't here last year.

• Prima Cantina Malibu — Baja-style cantina in the former JuJu space at 22235 PCH, open by August 2026 — tacos, fajitas, and weekday 4:30–6pm "Fiesta Hours."
• Wally's Malibu — the LA wine institution’s fourth location, opened May 22, 2026 at Cross Creek Ranch (23465 Civic Center Way) — 4,000 bottles, and the only Wally’s that is walk-ins only.

Openings verified as of October 2026.

Top-Rated Schools

• Malibu Elementary School — K-5 SMMUSD; formed in 2019 by combining Juan Cabrillo Elementary and Point Dume Marine Science, and it kept the marine science emphasis.
• Webster Elementary School — K-5 SMMUSD on Winter Canyon Road in central Malibu.
• Malibu Middle School — 6-8 SMMUSD; shares the Malibu Park campus with the high school.
• Malibu High School — 9-12 SMMUSD; the city’s comprehensive public high school.
• Our Lady of Malibu School — PK-8 Catholic independent; about 130 students and a roughly 9:1 student-teacher ratio.

Fun Places & Local Character

• Malibu Pier — the 1905 landmark at the heart of town — open, though the far end has been closed since January 2025 over structural safety concerns; State Parks awarded a $2.125M emergency repair that begins in mid-October 2026 and is expected to take about three months.
• Surfrider Beach — the three-point break beside the pier; rides of 300 yards or more, and the reason Malibu is on the surfing map at all.
• Zuma Beach — the wide, lifeguarded county beach on the western stretch — the one locals send families to.
• Point Dume Natural Preserve — the headland trail with whale-watching in season; note that Westward Beach Road past the pay gate, the beach entrance, and the parking lot closed indefinitely on August 2, 2026 after severe coastal erosion.
• Adamson House & Malibu Lagoon Museum — 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival landmark famous for its Malibu Potteries tilework, open for tours above Surfrider.

What's Coming & What to Watch

A Malibu-only school district — the SMMUSD board voted unanimously on December 1, 2025 to approve the separation agreements that would split the district into Santa Monica Unified and Malibu Unified. It still requires special state legislation, and Malibu officials do not expect that to land in 2026 or 2027, so Malibu remains in SMMUSD for now.

The pace of the rebuild — recovery has accelerated but remains slower than Pacific Palisades. As of September 14, 2026 the city reported 100 rebuild permits issued and 370 planning approvals, with 66 more projects in plan check, and the first rebuilt home has received its certificate of occupancy. Entitlement timelines still run years, not months.

Coastal erosion on the shoreline — with seawalls gone at destroyed beachfront properties, high tides and surf have cut drop-offs as deep as eight feet near Point Dume, and a separate erosion incident on Sea Level Drive in September 2026 put 31 properties under mandatory evacuation. It is now a live diligence question for any oceanfront purchase, alongside FEMA elevation requirements and septic costs.

No Measure ULA exposure — Malibu is a separate city, so LA City’s transfer tax does not apply. For reference, the LA City thresholds rose with inflation on July 1, 2026 to 4% above $5.4M and 5.5% at or above $10.9M, which is precisely the range where Malibu inventory sits.