Calabasas is one of the few cities in the western LA County footprint where the gated-community share of total inventory is high enough to drive the whole market read. About one in three active listings in 91302 sits behind a guard gate, and the price-per-foot delta between gated and ungated product is real — usually 18 to 28 percent at any given moment. This hub page is for buyers and sellers who already know they want Calabasas and are trying to map the gated options against the open neighborhoods. I cover what each community is, what it costs in May 2026, how the HOAs differ, and where the school boundaries land. If you want the broader city overview first, start with the main Calabasas real estate page and come back here.
What Calabasas is
Calabasas is a hillside city of about 23,800 people on the western edge of Los Angeles County, sandwiched between the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to the south and the 101 freeway corridor to the north. The city covers roughly 13.2 square miles and was incorporated as a general-law city in 1991, which is later than most of its neighbors. Before incorporation it was unincorporated LA County land, and much of the older development patterns still reflect that — wide arterial roads, deep custom-home lots, and ranch-era parcels stitched together with newer master-planned tracts.
Government is council-manager. The city council has five members elected at large with rotating mayoral appointments. The city contracts most public safety: LA County Sheriff's Lost Hills station provides police services, and LA County Fire covers fire and EMS. That contracting model keeps the municipal budget tight and is part of why property tax effective rates stay close to the 1% baseline in most non-Mello-Roos tracts.
Geographically, Calabasas occupies a narrow east-west band along the 101, with most residential land south of the freeway climbing into the Santa Monica Mountains. The northeast corner along Las Virgenes Road and Lost Hills Road holds the bulk of the gated luxury inventory. The southern edge connects to Topanga State Park and the Mulholland Highway scenic corridor.
Calabasas median home price and 2026 market read
Calabasas closed May 2026 at a citywide median sale price of approximately $2.2M across roughly 28 closed transactions in the prior 30 days. That figure includes everything from small condos near the 101 to $20M+ estates in The Oaks and Mulholland Estates, so the median is a directional number, not a price you should anchor a specific search around. The single-family detached median is closer to $2.45M.
Inventory in May 2026 sits at roughly 95 active single-family listings across 91302, with about 60% of those at $2M or above. Days on market average 41 — slower than the western San Fernando Valley, faster than Hidden Hills. Months of supply at the current pace runs about 5.5, which is balanced-to-buyer territory at the top end and still tilts seller in the sub-$2M segment.
Price growth year over year has cooled to roughly 2.8% on a trimmed-mean basis. The $5M+ segment shows the most variance — individual estate sales can swing the median by 6 to 10% in a slow month. I track closings at the community level rather than the city level because the dispersion across The Oaks vs. Calabasas Park Estates vs. ungated central-city product is wide enough that a citywide number can mislead.
Sub-neighborhoods and their price tiers
The seven primary gated communities and the major ungated tracts have distinct price ladders. The table below reflects May 2026 closings and active list ranges. The Oaks is the marquee guard-gated address and trades at the top of the ladder; Mulholland Estates sits alongside it as a smaller, equally gated and equally priced enclave. Mountain View Estates and Calabasas Park Estates anchor the established-luxury middle. Westridge and Vista Pointe slot in below those, and ungated 91302 product covers everything else.
The luxury label is factually warranted across this set — every gated community on the list has a median sale price above $2.5M and a build standard that reflects it (custom or semi-custom construction, larger lot sizes, finished sq ft above 4,000 in most cases). I use the term where it describes the inventory, not as filler.
| Community | Gate type | Median (May 2026) | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Oaks of Calabasas | 24-hr guard-gated | $7.8M | $4.5M - $20M+ |
| Mulholland Estates | 24-hr guard-gated | $8.2M | $5M - $25M+ |
| Mountain View Estates | Guard-gated | $5.4M | $3.5M - $9M |
| Calabasas Park Estates | Guard-gated | $3.6M | $2.5M - $6.5M |
| Westridge | Auto-gated | $2.85M | $2.2M - $4M |
| Vista Pointe | Auto-gated | $2.65M | $2.0M - $3.5M |
| Ungated 91302 (Saratoga, Park Moderne, etc.) | Open | $1.85M | $1.2M - $3M |
Schools serving Calabasas
All of Calabasas is served by Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD), which also serves Hidden Hills, parts of Agoura Hills, and Westlake Village west of the 405. LVUSD operates seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools, with Calabasas High School and Agoura High School being the two comprehensive high schools. LVUSD has been a high-performing district on the California School Dashboard for more than a decade.
Elementary attendance zones inside Calabasas split roughly by major arterial. Bay Laurel Elementary serves much of central Calabasas and Calabasas Park Estates. Chaparral Elementary serves the northeast corner including The Oaks and Mountain View Estates. Lupin Hill Elementary serves the western portion. Round Meadow Elementary picks up parcels in the southeast and along Mulholland. Middle school is A.E. Wright for most of the city; high school is Calabasas High.
Boundaries do shift. LVUSD publishes the official attendance area maps at lvusd.org and the district allows intra-district transfers in some years. Always verify the current boundary for a specific address before tying a purchase decision to a specific school.
- Bay Laurel Elementary — central Calabasas, Calabasas Park Estates
- Chaparral Elementary — northeast, includes The Oaks, Mountain View Estates
- Lupin Hill Elementary — western Calabasas
- Round Meadow Elementary — southeast / Mulholland
- A.E. Wright Middle School — citywide middle
- Calabasas High School — citywide comprehensive high school
HOA and Mello-Roos exposure
HOA dues in Calabasas gated communities range from roughly $325/mo at the lower end (Vista Pointe) to $1,200+/mo at The Oaks and Mulholland Estates, where the dues fund 24-hour guard staffing, common-area landscaping, private street maintenance, and in some cases shared recreation facilities. Calabasas Park Estates and Mountain View Estates fall in the $650-$900/mo band. Ungated tracts typically have either no HOA or a small landscape-maintenance HOA under $200/mo.
Mello-Roos exposure in 91302 is limited. Most of the established luxury communities predate the major CFD-financed development waves and do not carry meaningful Mello-Roos special assessments. A few newer infill projects and the eastern edges of Westridge and certain Calabasas Park phases do carry CFD line items — typically $800-$2,400/year — so verify the specific APN against the LA County Assessor record before you assume zero.
What I tell clients: factor the all-in monthly carry, not just the mortgage. A $5M Oaks home with $1,200/mo HOA, $52K/year in property tax, and $8K/year insurance carries differently than a $5M Westridge home with $400/mo HOA, the same tax, and the same insurance. Over five years that's a six-figure difference.
Commute and freeway access
Calabasas sits directly on the 101 freeway with three primary interchanges: Las Virgenes Road, Lost Hills Road, and Parkway Calabasas. The 101 connects east to the San Fernando Valley and downtown LA and west to Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Valley. From central Calabasas, peak-hour drive time to Warner Center is roughly 18-25 minutes; to downtown LA via the 101/110 it is 50-70 minutes depending on time of day.
South of the 101, residents reach the coast via Las Virgenes Road through Malibu Canyon (about 20 minutes to PCH at the Pepperdine campus) or via Topanga Canyon Boulevard from the eastern edge of the city. North-south access to the western Valley uses Lost Hills Road and Parkway Calabasas. The 101 is the primary commute axis — there is no alternate east-west freeway, so 101 closures meaningfully affect the city.
LAX is roughly 35-45 minutes via the 405, depending on time of day. Burbank Airport (BUR) is closer in time for most Calabasas addresses — about 30-35 minutes via the 101 east to the 170.
Lifestyle anchors
The Commons at Calabasas is the city's primary outdoor retail and dining hub, anchored along Calabasas Road just south of the 101. It runs a full slate of restaurants, a movie theater, and weekend farmers' market. The Old Town Calabasas stretch along Calabasas Road and Park Granada has the older civic and shopping core including the Leonis Adobe Museum, one of the oldest residences in the LA region.
Parks and open space are a defining feature. Calabasas Lake (a private community lake inside Calabasas Park Estates) and de Anza Park provide the city's recreation core, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area immediately to the south puts thousands of acres of trail access within a 5-minute drive of most addresses. Las Virgenes View Park and Calabasas Bark Park anchor the eastern side.
Dining and cultural anchors include Sagebrush Cantina (a Calabasas institution since the 1970s), the Saddle Peak Lodge in the hills above, and a regular roster of farmers' markets. The city hosts an annual Pumpkin Festival in October that is one of the longer-running community events in western LA County.
Buyer scenarios
A buyer wanting maximum privacy and a 24-hour guard at the gate typically lands in The Oaks or Mulholland Estates. Budget starts at roughly $4.5M for the smaller floor plans in The Oaks and $5M in Mulholland Estates. The trade-off is HOA dues at the top of the citywide range and a more limited resale pool when you eventually exit — fewer transactions per year than a more conventional luxury tract.
A buyer wanting an established luxury address with strong schools at a more approachable entry point looks at Calabasas Park Estates ($2.5M-$6.5M). The community is guard-gated, sits around the private Calabasas Lake, feeds Bay Laurel Elementary and Calabasas High, and has a deeper resale pool than the smaller marquee enclaves.
A buyer who wants newer construction with modern floor plans and is comfortable with an auto-gate rather than 24-hour staffing looks at Westridge or Vista Pointe. Entry points run $2.0M-$2.5M for the smaller plans, $3M+ for the largest. HOAs are modest, Mello-Roos exposure is limited, and resale velocity is faster than the marquee communities.
Seller scenarios
Selling a gated-community home in Calabasas is a different process than selling an ungated tract home. Guard-gated communities have rules on showings, sign placement, open houses, and photographer access. The Oaks restricts open houses and limits exterior signage. Mountain View Estates allows by-appointment showings but no broker caravans. Sellers who don't plan around those rules can lose two to three weeks of marketing time.
Pricing the $3M+ Calabasas segment requires close attention to true comparable sales because public-record comps are sparse — there might be only 8 to 15 closings per year in a specific community. I pull MLS history, off-market closings, and adjust for view, lot size, and finish level on a per-property basis. Algorithmic estimates (Zestimate, Redfin Estimate) are unreliable in this segment and I tell sellers not to anchor on them.
Marketing the property well matters more than at lower price points. Professional photo and video, drone, twilight, and a property website are the floor. For homes above $5M, a private network pre-launch (broker tour, MLS-coming-soon, targeted agent emails) typically runs two to three weeks before public exposure. Days on market is not the metric to optimize — net proceeds is.
What I tell clients shopping Calabasas
Calabasas is a community where the right answer depends on what the gate gets you. If the priority is school district plus reasonable luxury at the entry end, the ungated 91302 tracts can work fine — you save $500K-$1M and you're still in LVUSD with full access to The Commons and the open-space network. If the priority is a specific gated address — particularly The Oaks or Mulholland — the price spread is real and the inventory is thin. Patience matters.
Verify Mello-Roos and HOA at the APN level before you write. Verify the school boundary for the address, not the community. Verify wildfire defensible-space requirements on the hillside parcels (south of the 101 mostly) and review the CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone map for the specific lot. Insurance availability has tightened across western LA County and a home that is uninsurable through the admitted market is harder to finance.
If you want to compare Calabasas against the sibling cities along the 101 corridor, I have deep guides for Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, and Moorpark linked below. I sell across all of them and the trade-offs are real and specific.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median home price in Calabasas in May 2026?
Calabasas closed May 2026 at a citywide median sale price of approximately $2.2M across all property types in ZIP 91302. The single-family detached median was closer to $2.45M. Gated communities including The Oaks, Mountain View Estates, and Mulholland Estates trade well above that figure; ungated tracts in central Calabasas trade below it. Days on market averaged 41 for the period. Year-over-year price growth has cooled to roughly 2.8% on a trimmed-mean basis. These figures cover roughly 28 closed transactions in the prior 30 days and should be treated as directional, not as a target list price for a specific home.
What is the difference between The Oaks of Calabasas and Mountain View Estates?
Both are guard-gated luxury communities in Calabasas but they serve different parts of the market. The Oaks is a larger 24-hour guard-gated community with a wider range of floor plans, a community recreation center, and median sale prices near $7.8M. Mountain View Estates is a smaller guard-gated enclave with custom homes on larger lots, median sale prices near $5.4M, and a more established 1990s-built feel. The Oaks has more inventory turnover; Mountain View has more long-term ownership. Both feed Chaparral Elementary, A.E. Wright Middle, and Calabasas High.
Are all Calabasas gated communities served by Las Virgenes Unified?
Yes. All seven of the primary gated communities in Calabasas (The Oaks, Mulholland Estates, Mountain View Estates, Calabasas Park Estates, Westridge, Vista Pointe, and the smaller Saratoga Hills) sit inside Las Virgenes Unified School District boundaries. The elementary attendance area varies by address — Bay Laurel, Chaparral, Lupin Hill, or Round Meadow — and middle and high school are A.E. Wright Middle and Calabasas High citywide. Verify the specific elementary assignment for any address at lvusd.org before tying a buying decision to a particular school.
What is the HOA at The Oaks of Calabasas?
The Oaks of Calabasas HOA dues in May 2026 run approximately $1,000-$1,250 per month depending on the sub-area and property type within the community. Dues fund 24-hour guard service, private street maintenance, common-area landscaping, the community recreation facilities, and management. Sellers are required to provide current HOA financial documents, reserve study, and CC&Rs to buyers during escrow. Always verify the current HOA balance, any pending special assessments, and the financial health of the association before removing investigation contingencies.
Does Calabasas have Mello-Roos taxes?
Calabasas has limited Mello-Roos exposure compared with newer master-planned cities like parts of Valencia or Porter Ranch. Most established luxury communities including The Oaks, Mulholland Estates, Calabasas Park Estates, and Mountain View Estates predate major CFD financing waves and do not carry meaningful Mello-Roos assessments. Some Westridge and newer infill phases do carry CFD line items in the $800-$2,400/year range. Always pull the current tax bill at the specific APN through the LA County Assessor before assuming the exposure for a given property.
What is the commute from Calabasas to downtown LA?
From central Calabasas to downtown LA via the 101 freeway typically runs 50 to 70 minutes during peak hours, with the variance driven by 101 east-of-Sepulveda conditions. Off-peak midday or weekend drives run 35 to 45 minutes. Commute to Warner Center is 18-25 minutes via the 101 east. Commute to LAX runs 35-45 minutes via the 101 east to the 405 south. Burbank Airport is closer in time for most Calabasas addresses at 30-35 minutes via the 101 east to the 170. There is no alternate east-west freeway, so 101 closures meaningfully affect access.
Is Calabasas in Los Angeles County or Ventura County?
Calabasas is in Los Angeles County. The city sits on the western edge of LA County along the 101 freeway corridor, with Ventura County beginning roughly five miles further west at the Calabasas / Agoura Hills border and continuing to Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks. This matters for property tax administration (LA County Assessor), public safety contracting (LA County Sheriff and Fire), and school district boundaries (Las Virgenes Unified spans the county line and serves portions of both counties).
What does it cost to buy in The Oaks of Calabasas?
Entry-level homes in The Oaks of Calabasas in May 2026 start near $4.5M for the smaller two-story floor plans on standard interior lots. The community median sits near $7.8M, with newer larger homes on view lots trading $10M-$15M, and the largest custom estates exceeding $20M. HOA dues run roughly $1,000-$1,250/month. Property tax effective rate is approximately 1.1% with limited Mello-Roos exposure. All-in monthly carry on a $7.8M home with 20% down at current rates runs roughly $48,000-$55,000/month including tax, HOA, and insurance — run the specific numbers with your lender before targeting the community.
