What Does It Cost to Buy a House in Windsor Square, Los Angeles in 2026?
Windsor Square asking prices run $1.75M to $7.95M in August 2026. Price bands, HPOZ rules, the Measure ULA line, and how it compares to Hancock Park.
What does it actually cost to buy a house in Windsor Square in 2026? As of August 18, 2026, there are twelve properties on the market inside the neighborhood, and asking prices run from $1.3 million for a vacant lot on South Van Ness to $7.95 million for a 5,462 square foot house on Lorraine Boulevard, per CRMLS listing data displayed on Movoto. The middle of that active inventory sits right around $3.4 million. If you want a restored period house on one of the wide, tree-lined blocks between Beverly and Wilshire, plan on somewhere between $3.5 million and $5 million. Above $5.4 million, a different set of math kicks in, and I will get to that below.
Windsor Square is one of those Los Angeles neighborhoods people drive through constantly without knowing they are in it. It sits in the middle of the city, east of Hancock Park and north of Wilshire. No ocean view, no canyon, no gate. What it has instead is a hundred and fifteen years of intact residential planning, and that turns out to be the whole story.
The 1911 plan is still doing the work
Windsor Square was carved out of what had been part of Rancho La Brea and subdivided in 1911 by the Windsor Square Investment Company. According to Los Angeles City Planning, the original plan required lots of no less than 100 feet of frontage and over 300 feet in depth. That single decision, made before most of the city around it existed, is why the streets feel the way they do today. The setbacks are deep. The parkways are wide. The trees have had a century to fill in overhead.
The housing stock follows the eras it was built through. City Planning documents the earliest residences as Craftsman and Beaux Arts or Classical Revival, followed by the Period Revival wave that defines most of the neighborhood now: Spanish Colonial, Mediterranean, Tudor, English, French, and American Colonial Revival. Contemporary and California Ranch houses appear on infill lots. The original ornamental streetlights are treated as contributing features of the district too, which is rare in Los Angeles.
The signature streets run north to south: Windsor, Lorraine, Plymouth, Irving, Arden, Norton, and Van Ness. Irving Boulevard carries the neighborhood's most recognizable address. Getty House, at 605 South Irving, is the official residence of the Mayor of Los Angeles, a Tudor Revival house the City has held for decades.
What the current price bands look like
Here is the active inventory in Windsor Square as of August 18, 2026, grouped by asking price. This is a small neighborhood, so a dozen listings is a normal-to-healthy supply, not a glut.
| Asking price band | Active listings | What sits here |
|---|---|---|
| Under $2M | 3 | A vacant lot, a smaller two-bedroom, and a 2,694 sq ft house on Van Ness |
| $2M to $3M | 3 | Roughly 3,000 to 3,300 sq ft houses on Van Ness, Norton, and Gower |
| $3M to $5M | 3 | Restored 3,400 to 7,300 sq ft period houses on Bronson, Lorraine, and Van Ness |
| Above $5.4M | 3 | Arden, Plymouth, and Lorraine, from 3,878 to 5,462 sq ft |
Closed-sale medians in a neighborhood this small swing hard month to month, because six or seven transactions can move the number by a million dollars. Redfin's Windsor Square market data put the median sale price near $3.28 million, with a sale-to-list ratio around 102 percent and about 30 days on market in its most recent reported month. Treat that as directional. When you price a specific house here, the comparable set is usually four to eight properties, and lot size, block, and the quality of the restoration matter more than any neighborhood median.
The $5.4 million line changes the seller math
This is the part that catches Windsor Square sellers off guard more than anything else, because the neighborhood straddles the threshold rather than sitting comfortably above or below it.
For transactions closing after June 30, 2026, the Los Angeles Office of Finance sets the Measure ULA transfer tax at 4 percent on sales over $5,400,000 and 5.5 percent on sales of $10,900,000 or more. That sits on top of the city's base transfer tax of $2.25 per $500. The thresholds are indexed annually to the Chained Consumer Price Index, which is why they have moved every year since the tax took effect in April 2023.
The effect at the line is stark. A house closing at $5,300,000 owes the base tax only. A house closing at $5,500,000 owes roughly $220,000 in ULA tax on top of it. There is no phase-in and no partial rate. The tax applies to the full consideration once the threshold is crossed.
That makes pricing near the line a real decision rather than a rounding exercise. If you are weighing improvements before listing, whether they push you across $5.4 million deserves a proceeds calculation before you spend the money.
If you own in Windsor Square and want to see where your house lands against the current threshold, you can request a confidential valuation for your Windsor Square property and we will run the net-proceeds math alongside it.
Living inside an HPOZ
Windsor Square is a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, adopted by City Council in 2004. Buyers often hear "HPOZ" and assume it means they cannot touch the house. That is not accurate, but it does mean exterior work follows a review process.
The Windsor Square Preservation Plan, revised and approved by the City Planning Commission in July 2019, sets design guidelines for structures, landscape, street trees, and the public realm. In practice: interiors are largely yours, exterior alterations visible from the street go through HPOZ review, and the HPOZ Board hears cases on the first and third Wednesday of each month.
So before you write an offer here with a renovation plan attached, price that plan against the Preservation Plan, not against what you could do in a non-HPOZ neighborhood four miles west. Windows, front facades, roofing material, and hardscape are what most often surprise people.
Windsor Square compared to what is next to it
Hancock Park is directly west and is the name most buyers search first. Both are HPOZs with the same period architecture and a similar price ceiling, but Hancock Park carries more name recognition, which shows up modestly in pricing on equivalent houses. I wrote about what a $16.5 million Hancock Park sale signaled for LA sellers earlier this month.
Larchmont Village is the commercial stretch on Larchmont Boulevard and the blocks around it. Houses are typically smaller on smaller lots and trade below Windsor Square, with walkability to the boulevard as the draw.
Windsor Village and Country Club Park sit south and southwest of Wilshire, with similar period architecture at lower price points and their own HPOZ designations.
The short version: Windsor Square is the trade if you want the deep-lot, wide-street, restored-period-house experience at a slight discount to the Hancock Park name.
What changed in the last year
Metro's D Line subway extension opened its first new section on May 8, 2026, adding stations at La Brea, Fairfax, and La Cienega west of Wilshire/Western. That station sits at the southeast corner of the Windsor Square area, making this the closest thing to a transportation change the neighborhood has seen in decades. Metro has also been moving to develop several of its own parcels along the corridor, including the site at Wilshire and Crenshaw.
None of that changes what a house on Plymouth or Lorraine is worth this quarter. It does change what the southern edge of the neighborhood looks like over the next five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a house in Windsor Square cost in 2026?
As of August 18, 2026, active asking prices run from about $1.75 million for smaller houses to $7.95 million for large restored period estates. The middle of current inventory is around $3.4 million, and recent closed-sale medians have been reported near $3.28 million. Lot size, block, and the authenticity of the restoration drive most of the variation.
Is Windsor Square part of Hancock Park?
No. They are two separate, adjacent neighborhoods with separate Historic Preservation Overlay Zone designations. Windsor Square is generally bounded by Beverly Boulevard on the north, Van Ness Avenue on the east, Wilshire Boulevard on the south, and Arden Boulevard on the west, with Hancock Park immediately west of that. The two are frequently conflated in conversation and even in listing descriptions, so confirm the actual district before relying on comparable sales from either one.
Can I remodel a house in the Windsor Square HPOZ?
Yes, with review. Interior work is largely unrestricted. Exterior alterations visible from the public right of way are evaluated against the Windsor Square Preservation Plan, and the HPOZ Board hears cases on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Windows, front facades, roofing material, and hardscape are the areas that most often require revision. Plan for the review timeline before you close, not after.
Do Windsor Square sellers pay the Measure ULA mansion tax?
Some do. For sales closing after June 30, 2026, the ULA tax applies at 4 percent above $5,400,000 and 5.5 percent at $10,900,000 or more, per the Los Angeles Office of Finance. Because much of the neighborhood's inventory sits in the $2 million to $5 million range, many Windsor Square sales fall below the threshold entirely, while houses on the larger lots along Lorraine, Plymouth, and Arden regularly cross it. The thresholds are indexed annually, so check the current figure rather than one you read last year.
Should I use a local agent to buy or sell in Windsor Square?
For this neighborhood specifically, yes, and for a narrower reason than the usual one. Windsor Square transactions turn on three things general LA experience does not cover: reading HPOZ review risk when a buyer has renovation plans, building a comparable set from a very small pool of transactions where a single block matters, and pricing around the Measure ULA threshold. Agents who have not worked inside an HPOZ tend to underestimate the first and over-trust the neighborhood median on the second. I am Paul Blair, founder and broker of Grey Square, with 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions across the Hollywood Hills, Hancock Park and Windsor Square, Beverly Hills, and the Westside. If you are weighing a purchase or a sale here, schedule a private consultation about Windsor Square.
Working in Windsor Square
The houses I have walked in Windsor Square reward buyers who slow down. The good ones are rarely the flashiest listings in a given month, and the difference between a faithful restoration and a fast cosmetic flip is not always obvious in photos. That is where I spend most of my time with clients here.
You can browse current Los Angeles listings or start a conversation about Windsor Square whenever you are ready.
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.