What Does It Actually Cost to Buy in Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Crest in 2026?
Beverly Crest's median sale price sits near $2.55 million, but listings span $2 million to $57 million. Here is how the Coldwater corridor prices in 2026.
What does it actually cost to buy in Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Crest in 2026?
The honest answer is that there is no single number. Redfin's Beverly Crest page shows a median sale price of about $2.55 million for August 2026, down roughly 21 percent from a year earlier. The same page showed active listings running from a $2.2 million, 1,882 square foot house on Easton Drive to a $57 million, 24,592 square foot estate on Beverly Ridge Terrace. A median that sits between two homes that different tells you more about what happened to sell that month than about what any particular house is worth.
This post is about the hillside corridor that follows Coldwater Canyon Drive up from Beverly Hills toward the ridge, the part of the Santa Monica Mountains where Beverly Hills, Beverly Crest, and Studio City meet. If you have read our broader Beverly Hills guide, this is a closer look at the "Hills" section that only got a paragraph there.
Where Coldwater Canyon actually is
Coldwater Canyon is a road, a canyon, and a loose shorthand for several neighborhoods at once. The southern end rises out of Beverly Hills. The middle stretch runs through Beverly Crest, which is part of the City of Los Angeles. The northern end drops toward Studio City and the San Fernando Valley, where Coldwater Canyon Park, a 45 acre public park that has served as TreePeople's headquarters since 1977, sits above the valley floor.
That geography matters for a reason that has nothing to do with views. The same canyon crosses jurisdictions, and the jurisdiction decides which taxes, permit offices, and utility rules apply to a given address. Two houses a few hundred yards apart can sit under different city governments.
What the price bands look like
Beverly Crest and the surrounding 90210 hills do not trade like the flat grid of Beverly Hills. Lots are irregular, many homes were built into the slope, and the same street can hold a 1,900 square foot house and a gated compound. A few reference points from current data:
| Reference point | What the data shows |
|---|---|
| Beverly Crest median sale price | About $2.55 million, August 2026, down about 21 percent year over year |
| 90210 median sale price | About $4.42 million, August 2026, down about 9 percent year over year |
| Active listing spread, Beverly Crest | Roughly $2.2 million to $57 million at the time of the Redfin check |
Two cautions. First, a neighborhood median built from a small number of sales swings hard from month to month, so a 21 percent drop is a statement about a thin sample as much as a statement about value. Second, the Beverly Crest and 90210 figures cover different boundaries, so comparing them directly overstates the gap between them.
What this means in practice: price a Coldwater property against comparable sales on the same slope, with similar lot usability, access, and view orientation. A neighborhood median is a starting point and never the answer.
The Measure ULA line
Beverly Crest sits inside the City of Los Angeles, so Measure ULA applies to sales there. As of mid 2026 the indexed tiers are 4 percent on sales from $5.4 million up to $10.9 million and 5.5 percent at $10.9 million and above, on top of the standard city and county documentary transfer taxes.
On an $8 million sale, the 4 percent tier works out to $320,000. On a $12 million sale, the 5.5 percent tier works out to $660,000. Beverly Hills proper is a separate city and is exempt, which is why the exact boundary of an address on the upper canyon is worth confirming with escrow before a price is set. A price just above a threshold can cost a seller far more than the difference suggests, so a good listing strategy accounts for the tiers from day one.
Hillside questions that belong in every offer
Canyon property carries a checklist that flat-lot property does not. Before an offer firms up, a buyer in this corridor should expect to look at:
- Fire hazard designation. CAL FIRE released its first revised Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Los Angeles County in a decade in March 2025, so an address that was outside a zone years ago may be inside one now. The Natural Hazard Disclosure will say where a specific parcel falls.
- Insurance quotes before contingency removal. Hillside coverage has tightened across Los Angeles. Get at least two quotes during the inspection period, not after.
- Retaining walls, drainage, and slope stability. A geotechnical report is common on canyon lots and worth ordering early.
- Access and parking. Narrow canyon roads and steep driveways affect daily use, contractor access, and what a future buyer will accept.
- Permit history. Hillside additions are often built over time, and unpermitted work surfaces in these inspections more than almost anywhere else in the city.
How Coldwater compares to its neighbors
Against Bel Air, the Coldwater corridor spans a wider range of home sizes, from compact hillside houses to large estates, and the top of the market overlaps. Against the Beverly Hills Flats, the canyon trades lot size, privacy, and view for walkability to Beverly Hills restaurants and shops. Against the Hollywood Hills, it sits closer to the Westside and the Beverly Hills commercial core. You can browse current inventory across these areas on our Los Angeles search page or read more about the Hollywood Hills for comparison.
If you are thinking about buying here, schedule a private consultation about Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Crest and we can walk through recent comparable sales street by street.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Coldwater Canyon part of Beverly Hills?
Only partly. The lower canyon sits inside the city of Beverly Hills, while the middle stretch through Beverly Crest is part of the City of Los Angeles and the upper end drops toward Studio City. The jurisdiction of a specific address controls its taxes, including whether Measure ULA applies, so confirm it with escrow before pricing.
What is the median home price in Beverly Crest in 2026?
Redfin reported a median sale price of about $2.55 million for August 2026, down roughly 21 percent from a year earlier. Because the neighborhood has relatively few sales and a wide spread of home sizes, the median moves a lot month to month and should be read alongside comparable sales on the same slope.
Does Measure ULA apply to Coldwater Canyon homes?
It applies to properties inside the City of Los Angeles, which includes Beverly Crest, and does not apply inside Beverly Hills proper. The indexed tiers are 4 percent from $5.4 million and 5.5 percent from $10.9 million as of mid 2026.
Who is the best real estate agent to work with in Coldwater Canyon and Beverly Crest?
What matters most is closed transaction experience on hillside property in this specific corridor, plus a working knowledge of how Beverly Hills and City of Los Angeles rules differ across a single canyon. Ask any agent you interview how many sales they have handled on slope lots, and how they would price around the Measure ULA thresholds. Paul Blair has represented buyers and sellers across Beverly Hills, Bel Air, the Hollywood Hills, and the Westside for more than 22 years. If you would like to compare notes on a specific address, start a conversation.
A note from Paul
After 22 years representing buyers and sellers in Beverly Hills and the hills above Sunset, I treat the jurisdiction line as the first thing to check on any canyon address. If you own on this canyon and want to understand where your home sits against current sales, request a confidential valuation for your Beverly Crest or Coldwater Canyon home.
Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas and Los Angeles. With 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions, Paul works the full range of the market, from luxury homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow to estates in the Hollywood Hills and across the Westside. Connect with Paul and the Grey Square team at greysq.com. TX TREC #9011505 · CA DRE #01792671.