Four Words
"Let's wait until spring."
Four calm, sensible words.
In Malibu right now, they might be four of the most expensive words an owner can say. Or the smartest. The only way to know which is to look.
Malibu coastline and the Santa Monica Mountains
Quick Show of Hands
Malibu owners: who has said those words out loud this year?
Keep your hand up if you said it last year, too.
No judgment. Waiting feels safe. It feels like a plan. But a plan has a reason behind it, and "spring" on its own isn't a reason. It's a season.
Malibu Road, ocean views toward Point Dume
A Moment From the Office
When an owner tells me they'd like to wait for the market, I don't argue. I ask a question.
"What would you want to see happen in the market before you'd feel good listing?"
Then a second one.
"And if it doesn't happen by then, what would you do?"
Most of the time, the answer to the first question is something nobody can promise. Prices up. Rates down. More buyers. The answer to the second is usually quieter: "I guess we'd wait again."
That's the moment worth slowing down for.
Malibu Road, ocean-view dining
What We're Seeing in the Malibu Data
Here's the bigger point, and it comes straight from the quarter's closed sales.
Homes that came to market above what the recent sales supported are the ones still sitting. Buyers have plenty to choose from, and they are taking their time, touring more homes and comparing them closely before they make an offer. The homes that sold quickly had one thing in common: they were priced right from their first day on the market.
That's not a forecast. It's what already happened.
Malibu Road, the beach below
Let's Look at the Numbers
Here's our read of the quarter's MLS data for Malibu, Q3 2026:
- 243. Homes in Malibu inventory at the end of the quarter, 8% more than a year earlier. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- 94 days. Average days on market, up 8%. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- 10. Closed sales over $5 million, down from 17 a year earlier. That's 41% fewer. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- $3 million. Median sales price, 31% below Q3 2025. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- 94%. What the median landside home sold for, as a share of its asking price. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- 65 days. Median days on market for landside homes, down from 73. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- 5. Beach homes sold all quarter, down from 8. They closed at a median 91% of asking, down from 96%. (Q3 2026 Malibu MLS data)
- 7.24%. Freddie Mac's national 30-year fixed mortgage average on October 29, 2026. A year ago it was 6.17%. (Freddie Mac PMMS)
Sources
- TheMLS (Q3 2026 Malibu closed sales, July 1 to September 30, 2026)
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), week of October 29, 2026
A quick word on that $3 million median. The average landside price barely moved; more of the quarter's sales happened at the lower end. So read it as a change in what sold, not a sign that Malibu homes lost a third of their value.
Malibu Road, oceanfront living
So What Do the Numbers Say About Waiting?
Read them together and a few things stand out.
There are more homes for sale. Buyers have time. Buyers have choices. And the top of the market, the over-$5 million tier, saw fewer closings than a year ago.
Meanwhile, the landside homes that did sell went a little faster than last summer, and a little closer to asking.
That's a market that rewards the right price and the right presentation, not the right month. Spring may bring more buyers. It will very likely bring more listings, too. Mortgage rates are a full point higher than a year ago, and nobody can tell you where they'll be in April.
None of that means "sell now." It means waiting should be a decision you make with the numbers in front of you, not a default. If you're weighing the calendar, there's more on how to think about the best time to sell a house.
Malibu Road, ocean-view bedroom
What LA Luxuries Does for a Malibu Seller
Whether you list this season or next, here's the work we put behind a home, as published on laluxuries.com.
Seen locally.
- A custom property website and a custom color brochure.
- A custom email blast, with photos and a link to the property website, to several thousand agents across the major Los Angeles offices.
- With your permission, a sign and open houses on select dates.
Seen by people who can buy it.
- Direct email and text campaigns to wealth advisors, local high-net-worth residents, sports and talent agents, and top firms in law, finance, entertainment, medicine and tech.
Seen globally.
- Your home on Prestige MLS, the European MLS, translated into 13 languages.
- Your home on Caimeiju, an Asian MLS, translated into Chinese.
- Your property website featured on Youku, translated into Mandarin.
Seen online, everywhere buyers search.
- laluxuries.com, Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Trulia, Homes.com, TheMLS.com and the major brokerage sites.
Or kept quiet.
- On laluxuries.com we say it plainly: list with us on or off market. If privacy matters more than exposure, we can talk about a quieter approach.
Selling in Malibu also comes with its own coastal rules, septic permits and view pricing. I cover those in my guide to selling a luxury home in Malibu.
Malibu Road, palms and Pacific views
Now, Slow Down
Here's the part that matters.
Waiting is a strategy.
But only when you know what you're waiting for.
And what it costs you to wait.
Back to the Beginning
So think about those four words again. "Let's wait until spring."
Maybe that's exactly right for you. Maybe your home shows best in April light, or your next move lines up with June.
But now it's a choice you can make with real numbers. Not a hope with a season attached.
What About $20 Million Buys on Broad Beach
For a sense of the top of the market, consider a recent example. The beachfront at 31454 Broad Beach Road, Malibu, CA 90265, was offered this summer at $19,750,000, with seven bedrooms, seven full baths and a half bath, about 8,800 square feet and 50 feet of beach frontage. Originally designed by architect Marshall Lewis and built in 1992, it has a beach-facing pool, a home theater, a wine tasting room with a 2,300-bottle cellar and a three-car garage. Homes like this are rare, and at this level buyers compare every one of them. That's exactly why the launch price and the timing matter.
Malibu, Broad Beach Road
See the Broad Beach Road home on laluxuries.com, or reach out for a private conversation about your own Malibu home.
Request a Private Consultation
If you own a home in Malibu, on the sand or landside, would it help to sit down and compare what selling this season looks like next to waiting for spring, using what similar homes actually sold for?
Request a private consultation
Go Forth.
Jordan Pollack, Founder / Sales Agent
LA Luxuries Estate Agency | DRE 02010832
323.238.5225
[email protected] | laluxuries.com
333 S. Beverly Dr, Suite 104, Beverly Hills 90212
