Santa Monica Multifamily Broker: 23 Closings, $88.7M

Santa Monica apartment buildings average $516,920 per unit across the LAAA Team's 20 apartment sales among 23 closed transactions, totaling $88.7M in volume (the team's own closings as of October 2026). Buildings near the beach and Montana Avenue sit at the top of the city's range; the smaller 1950s and 1960s buildings in Mid-City, Sunset Park, Ocean Park and the Pico neighborhood trade at lower per-unit figures.

Cap rates on the LAAA Team's 20 Santa Monica apartment sales with a recorded rate averaged 4.06% since 2016, ranging from 2.41% to 5.56%, as of October 2026. That average spans very different markets, so treat it as history; the Market Snapshot on this page shows CoStar's current market estimate and reported sales average. A building with long-term tenancies carries a going-in rate below what its rents would be at market, and the gap between the two is the rental upside a buyer underwrites.

Santa Monica's rent control law is separate from the Los Angeles RSO and is administered by the Santa Monica Rent Control Board. It covers units with a certificate of occupancy before 04/10/1979, and the Board sets one General Adjustment each year: 2.6% with a $70 a month maximum for 09/01/2026 to 08/31/2027 (75% of CPI, capped at 3% or $70), as of October 2026. An owner who holds at least 50% of a two- or three-unit building as an individual and has lived there for at least 120 days can apply to the Board for an exemption; it is not automatic and it ends when the owner moves out or sells. Single-family homes have their own exemption rules. After a qualifying vacancy an owner can set a new starting rent, subject to the exceptions in the Board's Regulation 3301.

For units under Santa Monica rent control, the General Adjustment for 09/01/2026 to 08/31/2027 is 2.6%, capped at $70 a month, per the Rent Control Board's annual notice (as of October 2026). Units outside the local law that are more than 15 years old fall under the statewide AB 1482 cap instead.

Measure GS is Santa Monica's documentary transfer tax, in effect since 03/01/2023. One rate applies to the whole sale price: $3.00 per $1,000 under $5,000,000, $6.00 per $1,000 from $5,000,000 to $7,999,999, and $56.00 per $1,000 at $8,000,000 and above. On an $8,000,000 sale the city tax is $448,000, in addition to the county's $1.10 per $1,000 ($8,800). Rates as of October 2026, from the City of Santa Monica's documentary transfer tax page.

No. Measure ULA is the City of Los Angeles's transfer tax and applies only to sales inside that city. Santa Monica is its own city with its own transfer tax, Measure GS, described above.

In the LAAA Team's own record, most Santa Monica closings have been smaller 1950s and 1960s buildings in Mid-City, Sunset Park, Ocean Park and the Pico neighborhood, with downtown and the blocks north of Wilshire Boulevard at the higher per-unit figures. All of the city's pre-1979 buildings share the same rent control law. CoStar's Market Snapshot on this page puts vacancy at 7.8% as of 11/04/2026 (2026 Q4 to date).

California's Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act lets the owner of a rent-controlled unit set a new starting rent after a qualifying vacancy; the new tenancy is then controlled from that rent. The Board's Regulation 3301 lists the exceptions, including an Ellis Act withdrawal, a termination without good cause and certain unabated code violations. In Santa Monica, where many tenancies date back decades, this turnover is the main source of rental upside in an apartment purchase: as units turn over across a hold period, income rises without a capital program beyond the usual turnover work.

Yes. Most Santa Monica apartment sales transfer buildings with existing tenancies in place at their current rents, since the rental upside from turnover is a core part of the buyer's underwriting. Due diligence typically covers the rent roll, the Rent Control Board's registration and Maximum Allowable Rent for each unit, lease terms, security deposits and any open tenant matters. The LAAA Team coordinates buyer tours and inspections in compliance with California tenant rights laws, which require at least 24 hours' advance written notice for entry under Civil Code 1954.

Aida Memary Scher, Associate Director Investments (CA DRE 01980240), covers Santa Monica and the Westside with Glen Scher and Filip Niculete and is credited on most of the team's Santa Monica closings since 2016; her page lists them. Call Glen Scher at (818) 212-2808 or Aida at (818) 212-2678 for a confidential valuation.