Malibu home and condo appraisals for estates, trusts, and taxes
Coastal city of beachfront strands, bluff-top estates and canyon homes
Malibu, incorporated in 1991, is a long coastal city along Pacific Coast Highway west of Topanga and Pacific Palisades. Fire history shapes much of the valuation work here: families and attorneys ask for pre-fire values of homes lost in January 2025, land values for burned parcels, and date-of-death values that must reflect the market on one specific day.
- Location
- Malibu is an incorporated city in the Westside & Malibu region of Los Angeles County
- ZIP codes
- 90265
- Properties
- Single-family homes and condominiums
- Fees
- $449 Standard Desktop, $299 Basic Desktop
- Delivery
- 3+ business days
Homes in Malibu
Housing runs from beachfront strands such as Carbon Beach, Malibu Colony and Malibu Road to terrace and bluff neighborhoods like Point Dume and Malibu Park, and on into canyon and hillside homes reached by narrow, winding roads. Lot sizes range from narrow beach parcels to acreage in the western canyons, and most houses are custom builds of widely varying age and quality. Condominiums and townhomes make up only a small part of the stock.
What moves value in Malibu
Beach frontage, ocean views, privacy and road access drive value, and the buyer pool for oceanfront property is regional and international rather than local. Recovery from the 2018 Woolsey Fire and the 2025 Palisades Fire has made vacant burned lots a distinct product type, with buyers weighing rebuild rules, utility status and coastal permitting.
Neighborhoods and tracts
- Point Dume
- Malibu Park
- Malibu Colony
- Malibu Country Estates
- Serra Retreat
- Carbon Beach
- La Costa
- Big Rock
Local reference points: Reference points include the Malibu Pier, Adamson House, Surfrider and Zuma beaches, Point Dume, Pepperdine University and Malibu Creek State Park inland.
Appraisal considerations in Malibu
The 2025 Palisades Fire hit eastern Malibu hardest, with the city naming Big Rock, Carbon Mesa and La Costa among the worst-affected areas, while the 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed hundreds of homes in western neighborhoods such as Malibu Park. Market conditions before and after each fire must be measured separately, and burned parcels are valued as land with attention to rebuild eligibility under state and city rules that allow like-for-like replacement with limited expansion. Septic capacity, geology and coastal permits also limit what many lots can support.
How do you value a Malibu lot where the house burned in the Palisades Fire?
We value the parcel as land as of the requested date, using sales of burned and vacant lots and adjusting for frontage, views, access and the status of utilities and the septic system. When a pre-fire value is needed instead, we rely on sales that closed before January 7, 2025, so the opinion reflects the market before the loss.
Reports we prepare for Malibu properties
Each is a certified desktop appraisal of a single-family home or condominium, as of a current or past date.
- Date-of-Death Appraisals
- Step-Up in Basis Appraisals
- Trust Administration Appraisals
- Estate Settlement & Estate Tax Appraisals
- Gift Tax Appraisals
- Prop 19 Parent-Child Transfer Appraisals
- Divorce & Date-of-Separation Appraisals
- Family Sale & Co-Owner Buyout Appraisals
- Retrospective Appraisals
Reviewed November 2026.
Need a value for a Malibu property?
Send the address and the date the value is needed for. We confirm the property and the fee within one business day; the report is delivered in 3+ business days.