CA
Santa Monica Neighborhoods, From North of Montana to Ocean Park
From North of Montana to Ocean Park, the beach city at the premium end of the Westside.
Living in Santa Monica
Santa Monica neighborhoods each have a character of their own, from the tree-lined residential streets North of Montana to the beach blocks of Ocean Park. Santa Monica is its own city, on the coast between Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Venice, and it is the quintessential Los Angeles beach town.
Cool breezes off the ocean keep Santa Monica summers comfortable and help cut down on smog. The Santa Monica Pier and the Third Street Promenade draw visitors from everywhere, while the residential streets a few blocks away stay calm and green.
Santa Monica is the premium end of my territory. Homeowners here ask what their home would really bring and what a move would look like. Buyers, often relocating or trading up, ask which pocket of Santa Monica fits their budget and their commute. Both questions need the same thing: live data for the exact neighborhood.
How Danielle Edney Homes Serves Santa Monica
I am Danielle Edney, a REALTOR® with Chase Skye Realty Group and a third-generation Angeleno, licensed since 2006 and full time since 2020. At Danielle Edney Homes I work with a boutique, personalized approach, and in Santa Monica that matters, because the stakes are high at these price points.
A home North of Montana and a condo near Ocean Park are not the same market. I price each Santa Monica home from live TheMLS data for its own neighborhood and type, never a citywide average. Then I sell it with The Curated Listing Method: professional photography and video, paid digital campaigns that reach buyers before the home is public, and weekly written updates through closing.
Santa Monica buyers at these price points come prepared, and so do their agents. When offers arrive, I negotiate calmly and firmly, with the same live closed-sale data we priced with, so every counter has a number behind it.
If you have owned your Santa Monica home for a long time and are thinking about less house, my downsizing plan works out where you would go and when, before anything is listed. There is no rush, and knowing your options costs nothing.
For Santa Monica buyers, I start with a fully underwritten pre-approval, then send detailed video walkthroughs and build every offer from live closed-sale data. If you are moving here for work, see my relocation buyer process.
Santa Monica Neighborhoods & Communities
North of Montana sits at the north end of Santa Monica, above Montana Avenue, with wide, tree-lined streets and larger single-family homes. Many are traditional styles, from Spanish Colonial Revival to Craftsman, alongside newer custom builds. North of Montana is the premium end of Santa Monica pricing.
Wilshire Montana, between Montana Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, mixes single-family homes with condos and small apartment buildings, and it puts the shops and cafes of Montana Avenue within walking distance.
Ocean Park, at the south end of Santa Monica near Venice, has older beach cottages, Craftsman bungalows and condos, with Main Street running through for shopping and dining a few blocks from the sand.
Sunset Park, inland in the southeast part of Santa Monica, is mostly single-family homes on quieter residential streets, many of them postwar houses that have been remodeled or rebuilt.
South of Santa Monica, Venice has its own canals and walk streets, and inland, Mar Vista offers streets of single-family homes a short drive from the beach.
Santa Monica Housing Market & Home Types
Santa Monica housing runs from condos and townhomes near downtown and the beach to single-family homes on the residential streets, across a wide range of eras and styles. Many older Santa Monica homes have been remodeled or replaced with modern construction, and multi-unit buildings appear throughout the city.
As of September 2026, TheMLS showed an average sold price of about $3.53 million in Santa Monica, with homes averaging 29 days on market across 24 sales that month. That average mixes very different homes, and a North of Montana house and a Sunset Park house will never price off the same number.
At Santa Monica price points, small differences matter: a remodeled kitchen, a larger lot, a quieter street, or a few blocks closer to the ocean. I walk sellers through those differences with recent closed sales from their own neighborhood, and I do the same for buyers before they write an offer. If you want the number first, I will prepare a real valuation of your Santa Monica home.
Neighborhood Tour & Local Lifestyle
Outdoor life in Santa Monica centers on the bluffs and the beach. Palisades Park runs along the bluff above the ocean with walking paths, benches and public art, and Tongva Park offers gardens, picnic areas and playgrounds. The Santa Monica Stairs, north of San Vicente Boulevard, are a well-known spot for outdoor workouts. Smaller parks with tennis and basketball courts sit throughout the neighborhoods.
The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian-only shopping street downtown, a few blocks from the pier, and Main Street and Montana Avenue each give their neighborhoods a walkable strip of shops and cafes. Elephante, Met Her at a Bar and Hillstone are local favorites. The beach bike path runs south from Santa Monica into Venice, so you can ride along the sand from one beach town to the next.
For commuting, the 10 ends in Santa Monica and connects the city to the rest of Los Angeles, and the Metro E Line light rail runs from downtown Santa Monica east toward Culver City and downtown LA.
If you are comparing Santa Monica neighborhoods or thinking about selling here, book a 30-minute call with me and we will start with live numbers for your street.
If schools matter to your move, contact the district directly, visit in person, and use tools like GreatSchools.org before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Santa Monica neighborhood should I look at?
It depends on the home you want and your budget. North of Montana has larger single-family homes, Wilshire Montana mixes houses and condos, Ocean Park has cottages and condos near the beach, and Sunset Park is mostly single-family homes inland. I walk you through each with live data.
What do homes sell for in Santa Monica?
As of September 2026, TheMLS showed an average sold price of about $3.53 million in Santa Monica, with 29 average days on market across 24 sales. Prices vary widely by neighborhood and home type, so your number comes from the sales that match your home.
Is Santa Monica part of the City of Los Angeles?
No. Santa Monica is its own city within Los Angeles County, bordered by Los Angeles neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Venice. That can affect local rules, so your attorney or the city confirms anything specific to a property.
I'm not sure I'm ready to sell my Santa Monica home. Is it too early to talk?
No. Knowing your number and your options costs nothing, and it lets you move on your own timeline instead of the market's. A conversation now simply means that when you do decide, you decide with real numbers in hand.
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