What Two June Sales in Royal Oaks Say About Encino's Top Tier

What does a $25.5 million sale in Encino say about the top of the San Fernando Valley market right now? It says the Valley has a true ultra-luxury tier, and that it is concentrated in Royal Oaks. On June 19, 2026, 15837 Royal Oak Road closed for $25,500,000, a nine bedroom, sixteen bathroom home of 25,853 square feet on 1.02 acres, according to Redfin's sale record for the property. Three days earlier, 4125 Royal Crest Place closed for $13,950,000. Two sales, three days apart, both in the same enclave, and both well above anything the rest of Encino produced this summer.

The two sales side by side

Figures per Redfin's records for 4125 Royal Crest Place and 15837 Royal Oak Road.

The price per square foot runs the opposite way you might expect. The smaller, newer house on Royal Crest Place sold for more per square foot than the 25,000 square foot property on Royal Oak Road, which tells you that at this level buyers are not paying by the foot. They are paying for lot, finish, and how the whole parcel works as a compound. The Royal Oak Road listing describes a pool, guest house, and tennis court, while the Royal Crest Place home is described with an infinity-edge pool, home theater, gym, and solar panels, per the same Redfin pages.

There is also a price history worth noticing. Redfin shows 15837 Royal Oak Road last selling in May 2020 for $5,000,000, and before that in 2017 for $4,600,000. The page also carries inconsistent build year information, with the listing metadata showing 2026 while public records point to an older original structure. Redfin cannot tell you what was built, rebuilt, or permitted in between, which is exactly why a buyer at this price should pull the full permit history before writing an offer.

How far above Encino's median this sits

Encino as a whole posted a median sale price of $2.06 million in August 2026, up 23.0 percent year over year, with 134 homes sold, a median of 62 days on market, and a sale-to-list ratio of 97.8 percent, per Redfin's Encino market data. Redfin puts the neighborhood at 47 out of 100 on its competitiveness score, which it calls somewhat competitive.

That is a very different market from the one these two homes traded in. The $25.5 million sale is roughly twelve times the neighborhood median. Other upper-tier closings in the same ZIP code, including $8,480,000 on Ballina Drive and $7,000,000 on Libbit Avenue per Redfin's recently sold list for 91436, show a real ladder of price points below Royal Oaks. But nothing else on that list gets within eleven million dollars of the top sale.

If you are comparing what a Valley estate costs against the Westside, the Encino guide I wrote this summer, Buying in Encino in 2026, covers the Ventura Boulevard split and how the flats compare with the streets south of it. Royal Oaks sits at the top of that comparison.

What Measure ULA does to these numbers

Encino is inside the City of Los Angeles, which means both of these sales were subject to the city's Measure ULA transfer tax. Under the thresholds published by the Los Angeles Office of Finance, every sale at $10,900,000 or above pays 5.5 percent of the full price, and sales above $5,400,000 pay 4 percent. Both June closings landed in the higher tier.

On the numbers, that works out to roughly $1,402,500 on the $25.5 million sale and roughly $767,250 on the $13.95 million sale, on top of the ordinary Los Angeles County documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of value. The tier thresholds are indexed annually, so a seller should confirm the current figures with the Office of Finance rather than relying on any single post. The point stands either way: at Royal Oaks pricing, ULA is a seven figure line item in the net proceeds, and it belongs in the pricing conversation before a listing goes live, not at the closing table.

If you are weighing what a home in this part of the Valley could net after tax and closing costs, request a confidential valuation for your Encino property and we can run the numbers both ways.

The fire question buyers ask first

Redfin's risk data for Encino flags significant wildfire exposure for a large share of properties in the neighborhood. Rather than assume a hazard tier from a neighborhood name, check the specific parcel on CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps. Zone designation shapes both required disclosures and insurance availability, and on a home of this size, the insurance quote can change the economics of the purchase as much as the price does.

What these sales suggest, and what they do not

Two closings are a signal, not a trend. They show that buyers with the budget for a large, finished compound will pay it inside the Valley, and that a house at the very top of the neighborhood can clear more than twelve times the area median. They do not prove the whole tier is moving, and neither sale can be treated as a guarantee of where the next one will land. A seller looking at these numbers should be asking which features actually drove the price, whether a comparable property is realistically coming to market, and what the net looks like after ULA, not just the headline.

For buyers, the useful comparison is not Royal Oaks against the rest of Encino, since the gap is too wide to be informative. It is Royal Oaks against estate-level inventory across the Los Angeles search on greysq.com, where the same budget buys a very different set of choices in other parts of the city.

Thinking about a purchase or a sale in Royal Oaks or elsewhere in Encino? Schedule a private consultation and we will walk through the comparable sales before you set a number.

Frequently Asked Questions

What sold for $25.5 million in Encino in 2026? 15837 Royal Oak Road closed for $25,500,000 on June 19, 2026. Redfin lists it as a nine bedroom, sixteen bathroom home of 25,853 square feet on a 1.02 acre lot, per Redfin's property record.

Do Encino home sales pay the Measure ULA mansion tax? Yes. Encino is part of the City of Los Angeles, so sales above the indexed thresholds, currently $5,400,000 for the 4 percent tier and $10,900,000 for the 5.5 percent tier, are subject to the tax, according to the Los Angeles Office of Finance.

What is the median home price in Encino right now? Redfin reported a median sale price of $2.06 million for Encino in August 2026, up 23.0 percent from a year earlier, in its Encino housing market data.

How should I check fire risk on an Encino property? Look up the exact address on CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps and review the Natural Hazard Disclosure early, since the designation affects insurance availability and disclosures.

Who is the best real estate agent to work with for a luxury home in Royal Oaks? What matters most is recent transaction experience at this price point, familiarity with how Los Angeles city transfer tax changes net proceeds, and comfort reading permit history on large custom parcels. Paul Blair has 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions across Los Angeles and Dallas, including estates in the Hollywood Hills and and across the Westside. If you are buying or selling in Royal Oaks or elsewhere in Encino, start a conversation and compare how different agents would approach your specific property.

Valley sales that cross the Measure ULA line are where I see net proceeds change the most from what owners expect, and that is the first conversation I have with any Encino seller at this level. 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.

Curious what your own Encino home could sell for? Request a confidential valuation.