Malibu coastline at golden hour with beachfront homes along the shore

Malibu Real Estate Agent

Since the 2025 fire, Malibu is two markets: the pockets it spared, still holding standing homes, and the lots waiting to rebuild. For buyers who want a local agent who knows the difference.

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Malibu Today

Buying in Malibu Now

Malibu runs about twenty-one miles along Pacific Coast Highway, and it's now a divided market. The January 2025 fire burned into eastern Malibu; the 2018 Woolsey Fire hit the west and center. Some pockets came through untouched, others are rebuilding, and across all of it, insurance has become the deciding factor in what you can buy and finance. Here's how the coast actually breaks down today, east to west.

Jump to a pocket

Big Rock & Las Flores: The Eastern Gateway, Rebuilding

Malibu's eastern end, closest to the city. Big Rock is a blufftop mesa with city-lights views; Las Flores sits on the sand below. This is "old Malibu" at its more attainable end, and it burned heavily in January 2025. Buyers here are largely looking at lots and rebuilds.

Modern beachfront home with waves breaking on the Malibu shore

Carbon Beach: Billionaire's Beach

Known as Billionaire's Beach, Carbon Beach is one of the most exclusive oceanfront rows in the country, roughly seventy homes on the sand just south of the Malibu Pier. It sits in the eastern stretch the fire touched, so standing trophy homes and rebuild sites now trade side by side.

The Colony & Malibu Road: Central and Storied

The original 1920s Motion Picture Colony and the oceanfront stretch of Malibu Road anchor central Malibu. Gated and rarely on the market, the Colony preserves its Golden-Age beach-cottage character. Central Malibu's shopping core was largely spared in 2025.

Serra Retreat: Gated Hillside Estates

Gated and set on the hillside above central Malibu, Serra Retreat is a small enclave of large ocean-view estate lots, private but walkable to the Cross Creek shops. A prestige inland address near the heart of town.

Point Dume: Standing Inventory on the Promontory

The promontory at Malibu's center, Point Dume is blufftop trails, coves, and large lots ranging from ranches to cliff-top contemporaries, with private cove beach access. It was hit by the 2018 Woolsey Fire but largely spared in 2025, so it holds real standing inventory. Adjacent Paradise Cove, the country's most expensive mobile-home park, sits on leased land and is worth understanding carefully.

Malibu Park: Rural and Equestrian

West of Zuma and uphill from the coast near Malibu High, Malibu Park is rural and equestrian: big lots, horse properties, and trail access. It was among the areas hit by the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

Encinal Bluffs: The Western High End

On the western coast at Encinal Canyon, Encinal Bluffs is a pocket of cliffside gated estates on unusually large, flat lots, with near-private beaches below. The high end of west Malibu.

The Malibu Market

What a Buyer Should Know

A Divided Coast

Central and western pockets like Point Dume and the Colony hold standing homes. The eastern stretch, Big Rock to Carbon, is largely rebuilding.

Insurance Is the Deal

Coverage now drives Malibu deals. FAIR Plan policies, steep premiums, and hard-to-insure lots push much of the market toward cash buyers.

Land Trades at a Discount

Burned lots are selling, often to builders and investors. Value turns on permits, clearance, view, and insurability, not bedroom count.

Whether you want a standing home in a spared pocket or a lot to rebuild, the right move depends on financing and risk as much as price. Reach out and Maxine will walk you through what's realistic.

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Schools & Financials

Elementary: Malibu Elementary
Middle: Malibu Middle
High School: Malibu High

Malibu's schools are part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. A split to form a separate Malibu Unified School District was approved by both boards in December 2025 and still requires state legislation to take effect, so confirm current district status before you buy.

Zip Code: 90265
County: Los Angeles
PCH: Reopened 2025

Property Tax Rate: ≈1.1–1.25% of value
Insurance: FAIR Plan common; confirm coverage early

The Setting

What Draws People Here

The Coast

The coast is the whole point, and most of it is open. Zuma and El Matador are back to normal, Surfrider draws surfers as it always has, and the Point Dume headland trails run out over the water. The Malibu Pier is open, though its far end is closed for structural repairs. Pacific Coast Highway reopened in 2025.

Dining & Gathering

Malibu's anchors are largely back: Nobu, Malibu Farm on the pier, Geoffrey's, Malibu Seafood, and Broad Street Oyster are open, and Duke's reopened in 2026. The Malibu Country Mart and the Cross Creek shops are running. A few longtime spots, including Reel Inn and Moonshadows, were lost to the fire and are not returning.

Living Here Now

Buying in Malibu today means weighing fire risk and insurance alongside price, and being realistic about rebuild timelines on the eastern coast. For the people who live here, the ocean, the mountains, and the quiet are worth it, and the community's pull is as strong as ever.

Your Malibu Agent

Work with Maxine in Malibu

Malibu rewards buyers who understand the whole picture: which pockets came through the fires, how a burned lot is really valued, and whether a given property can even be insured and financed. Maxine Sarai represents buyers here with the diligence to tell a smart buy from a costly one, from a standing home on Point Dume to a lot on the eastern coast.

You work with Maxine directly, from the first conversation through closing.

Work with Maxine