Westwood vs. Santa Monica Condos: More Floor Area or the Coast?

As of October 15, 2026, Westwood condos for sale on LA Condo HQ asked a median of $1,080,000, about $743 per square foot across 118 listings, while Santa Monica condos asked $1,292,500, about $983 per square foot across 162. Santa Monica's median is about 20% higher and its per-foot price about 32% higher, for a smaller median unit.

Every figure in this post is an asking price or asking rent on CRMLS listings published on LA Condo HQ, read on October 16, 2026 from /market-reports/westwood, /market-reports/santa-monica and /market-stats, all three of which showed data as of October 15, 2026. None is a closed sale. Percentages are our own arithmetic on the published figures.

Two report pages, read the same morning

As of October 15, 2026, the Westwood report showed 118 condos for sale with asking prices from $359,999 to $12,500,000, a median listing size of 1,551 square feet and a median of 57 days on market. The Santa Monica report showed 162 for sale from $495,000 to $8,950,000, a median size of 1,354 square feet and a median of 48 days on market. For scale, /market-stats showed 2,003 published for-sale condo listings across Los Angeles at a $789K median and $677 per square foot.

The pages draw their lines differently. Santa Monica is its own city, so its report counts listings by municipality. Westwood is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, so its report counts listings by postal code, ZIP 90024 in our neighborhood data.

Price per foot is where Santa Monica pulls ahead

The headline medians understate the gap. The median Westwood listing is about 15% larger, so a 20% difference in median asking price becomes about 32% per square foot. At the median, Santa Monica buyers pay more for less floor area.

Listing square footage is reported by the seller, so check it against the floor plan and the association's records before leaning on any unit's price per foot.

Layout by layout, the gap is not constant

Holding bedroom count fixed shows where the premium concentrates. As of October 15, 2026, Westwood's 21 one-bedroom listings asked a median of $589,000, about $745 per square foot, against $735,000 and about $980 per foot for Santa Monica's 31 one-bedrooms. That is about 25% more per unit in Santa Monica.

Two-bedrooms, the most common layout in both reports, sit closest. Westwood's 68 asked a median of $1,161,500 at about $749 per foot, and Santa Monica's 100 asked $1,292,000 at about $951, about 11% more per unit and about 27% more per foot. Three-bedrooms split widest: Westwood's 22 asked a median of $1,337,000, about $719 per foot, against $2,049,500 and about $1,063 per foot for Santa Monica's 26, a premium of about 53%. A buyer who needs a third bedroom gets the most out of the difference in Westwood.

How much of each market sits under $1 million

Entry-level choice favors Westwood. As of October 15, 2026, 56 of its 118 for-sale listings, about 47%, asked under $1 million, including seven under $500,000. In Santa Monica, 61 of 162, about 38%, asked under $1 million, and only two asked under $500,000.

At the top, Westwood had 11 listings at $3 million or more, five of them at $5 million and up, against eight in Santa Monica, two at $5 million and up. That matters for the transfer tax below.

Wilshire towers against a scattered coastal stock

Where the listings sit is the clearest structural difference. Each report attributes listings, for sale and for rent combined, to the profiled buildings it can match by exact address. As of October 15, 2026, the Westwood report attributed 121 of its 214 sale and rental listings to 24 profiled buildings, led by /buildings/the-wilshire-regent with 12 and /buildings/10982-roebling-avenue and /buildings/1440-veteran-avenue with nine each. The Los Angeles County Assessor's 2025 roll lists 209 condominium parcels at 10982 Roebling Avenue and 256 at 1440 Veteran Avenue, with 1973 and 1972 in their year-built fields.

The Santa Monica report attributed only 32 of its 306 listings to nine profiled buildings, led by /buildings/201-ocean-avenue with six and /buildings/101-california-avenue with five. The assessor roll lists 315 condo parcels at 201 Ocean Avenue, with 1971 in the year-built field, and 91 at 101 California Avenue, with 1964. The rest of Santa Monica's listings are at addresses we have not matched to a profiled building.

In a large Westwood tower, several active listings let you compare asking prices under one association budget. In Santa Monica you will more often judge an association from its own documents alone, so the reserve study and board minutes carry more weight. The document list is at /condo-associations.

Renters see the ranking flip

Renters see a different ranking. As of October 15, 2026, Westwood had 96 condos listed for rent at a median asking rent of $5,338 a month, and Santa Monica had 144 at $4,825. Santa Monica's rental list leans smaller: 37% of its rentals were studios or one-bedrooms, against 18% in Westwood.

By layout the picture is mixed. One-bedrooms asked a median of $3,500 in Westwood and $3,175 in Santa Monica. Two-bedrooms reversed, at $5,400 in Westwood and $5,900 in Santa Monica. Three-bedrooms asked $7,725 in Westwood and $7,450 in Santa Monica. Current rentals in both are at /condos-for-rent.

The city transfer tax favors Santa Monica below $5 million

Both pay the county's documentary transfer tax of $0.55 for each $500 of value, but each city adds its own. According to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, under rates effective July 1, 2026 the City of Los Angeles, which includes Westwood, charges $2.25 for each $500, plus 4% of the total value on sales above $5,400,000 and below $10,900,000, or 5.5% at or above $10,900,000. The City of Santa Monica charges $3.00 per $1,000 under $5 million, $6.00 per $1,000 from $5 million to $7,999,999.99, and $56.00 per $1,000 at $8 million or more, the top tier added by Measure GS.

On a hypothetical $1,200,000 sale, both pay $1,320 to the county, but the city line is $5,400 in Westwood and $3,600 in Santa Monica. At a hypothetical $6,000,000, the Westwood city tax is $267,000 against $36,000 in Santa Monica. The purchase contract sets who pays, and /research/closing-cost-calculator itemizes the taxes for a given price.

Deciding which report to watch

Start with Westwood if you want more floor area per dollar, a three-bedroom without a $2 million budget, or the option of comparing several units in one Wilshire tower. Its guide is at /neighborhoods/westwood, and /blog/westwood-condo-guide covers the corridor in depth.

Start with Santa Monica if the coast is the point and you accept paying about a third more per foot, with more listings overall but fewer in any one building. See /neighborhoods/santa-monica and /blog/santa-monica-condo-buyer-guide. Both reports refresh hourly and listings in both are at /condos-for-sale, so recheck the figures before an offer.

LA Condo HQ is published by Eltherion, LLC, a research publisher, not a brokerage.

Questions buyers ask about Westwood vs. Santa Monica condos