Best Neighborhoods in Palos Verdes Estates
3 neighborhoods we show in person, and the one we'd pick for each kind of buyer.
Where to live in Palos Verdes Estates. The short answer.
The best Palos Verdes Estates neighborhood depends on what you want: Lunada Bay for streets on the bluffs above the ocean, with an elementary, intermediate and high school inside the neighborhood; Malaga Cove for 1920s Spanish houses a walk from the plaza and the bluff path, with the shortest drive down the hill; and Montemalaga for big hillside lots 800 to 1,000 feet above Santa Monica Bay. As of September 2026, the median asking price was about $6.9 million in Montemalaga and about $4.5 million in Malaga Cove, and Lunada Bay had just three listings. Every exterior change in the city goes through the Art Jury. About 75% of Malaga Cove homes are in a Very High fire zone.
Our picks in Palos Verdes Estates
Best for families
Lunada Bay Elementary, Palos Verdes Intermediate and Palos Verdes High are all inside the neighborhood, and the terraced streets don't get through traffic. The catch is the drive: Lunada Bay is about as far from the freeways as Palos Verdes Estates gets.
Read the guide ›Lunada Bay
Fewest homes in fire zones
About 9% of the homes within our Lunada Bay boundaries are in a Very High zone on CAL FIRE's 2025 map and roughly 8% more are High or Moderate, so most sit outside the zones. In Malaga Cove about 75% are Very High.
Read the guide ›Malaga Cove
Most walkable
From the streets near the plaza you can walk to the 1920s arcade, the 1930 library and the Paseo Del Mar bluff path, and a switchback path drops to the beach. For a real choice of restaurants you drive a few minutes down the hill to Riviera Village.
Read the guide ›Malaga Cove
Best for commuters
Every Peninsula commute starts with the drive down the hill toward Torrance or Redondo Beach, and from Malaga Cove, at the city's northern entrance, that drive is the shortest. Lunada Bay, on the far western side, has about the longest drive in the city.
Read the guide ›Montemalaga
Biggest lots
The median lot is about 15,400 square feet compared with about 10,200 citywide, and a third of lots are over 20,000, per LA County Assessor records. There are no shops inside the neighborhood, so every errand starts with a drive down the hill.
Read the guide ›Montemalaga
Best bay views
Most homes sit 800 to 1,000 feet up, and the highest streets look out over the whole curve of Santa Monica Bay, which locals call the Queen's Necklace at night. The median asking price was about $6.9 million in September 2026, and no city process guarantees a view.
Read the guide ›
Still deciding? Ask me.
I’m a Realtor based in Long Beach, and Palos Verdes Estates is one of the cities I work most. Tell me what you’re after and I’ll help you get there.
Slava Ploshkin · DRE #02323623English and Russian · How I work in Palos Verdes Estates
Every neighborhood, side by side.
 Malaga CoveThe first streets the Olmsteds drew, still centered on a 1920s arcaded plazaRead the guide › |  Lunada BayMidcentury view streets on 150-foot bluffs above the Peninsula's best-known winter waveRead the guide › |  MontemalagaBig midcentury lots 800 to 1,000 feet up the Palos Verdes Estates hillside, with the Queen's Necklace below at nightRead the guide › |
|---|---|---|
| Median asking | ||
| — | — | $6M |
| Homes for sale | ||
| — | — | 9 |
| Best for | ||
| 1920s houses, the plaza and the bluff walk | Ocean views and three schools in the neighborhood | Big lots and the Santa Monica Bay view |
| Typical homes | ||
| 1920s to 1930s Spanish houses near the plaza; postwar ranches uphill | 1950s to 1970s houses, median year built 1963 | 1950s to 1970s houses, median year built 1967 |
| Typical lot | ||
| Not in our guide; architecture and view set the price, not lot size | About 9,900 sq ft (median) | About 15,400 sq ft (median); a third over 20,000 |
| Schools inside the neighborhood (PVPUSD) | ||
| Not named in our guide; check the address | Lunada Bay Elementary, PV Intermediate, PV High | Montemalaga Elementary on Via Nogales |
| Fire zone (CAL FIRE 2025) | ||
| About 75% Very High; nearly all the rest High or Moderate | About 9% Very High; most homes outside the zones | About 20% Very High; about 30% High or Moderate |
| Asking range (Sept 2026) | ||
| 9 houses, about $2.25M to $14.5M | 3 homes, about $2.8M to $6M | 9 homes, most about $5.2M to $9.5M |
| Errands | ||
| Malaga Cove Plaza; Riviera Village down the hill | Lunada Bay Plaza; Golden Cove a few minutes south | None inside; Malaga Cove Plaza at the bottom of the hill |
| Trade-off | ||
| Most homes in a Very High fire zone | Farthest from the freeways; rock shore, no sand | A car for every errand; the view isn't guaranteed |
See Palos Verdes Estates for yourself.
Neighborhood comparisons.
Questions & answers
Lunada Bay, for most families. Three Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified schools sit inside it: Lunada Bay Elementary on Paseo Lunado, Palos Verdes Intermediate on Via Olivera and Palos Verdes High on Cloyden Road. Montemalaga is the other strong pick, with Montemalaga Elementary on Via Nogales and lots about 50% bigger than the city median. Schools are assigned by address, so check the exact house in the district's School Locator.
Where we check the facts
The facts on this page (schools, zones, prices) come from the official records below. We double-check them before every showing.
- PVPUSD: School Locatorpvpusd.net
- Montemalaga Elementary Schoolmontemalaga.pvpusd.net
- Los Angeles County Assessorportal.assessor.lacounty.gov
- USGS 3D Elevation Programusgs.gov
- CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal: Fire Hazard Severity Zonesosfm.fire.ca.gov
- CAL FIRE / OSFM: 2025 LRA Fire Hazard Severity Zones map service (map dated March 24, 2025)utility.arcgis.com
Show all 16 sourcesShow fewer
- California Civil Code 1102.19leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- Palos Verdes Homes Association: FAQpvha.org
- City of Palos Verdes Estates: Neighborhood Compatibilitypvestates.org
- City of Palos Verdes Estates: Parklands Committeepvestates.org
- City of Palos Verdes Estates: Doors Open Peninsula sitespvestates.org
- City of Palos Verdes Estates: Measure PVEpvestates.org
- Ballotpedia: Palos Verdes Estates Measure PF (June 2026)ballotpedia.org
- Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery (National Register, 1995)en.wikipedia.org
- RAT Beachen.wikipedia.org
- CRMLSgo.crmls.org
Photo credits (9)
- Palms and bougainvillea at a home on the bluff above Lunada BaySergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0
- The Neptune fountain on Malaga Cove Plaza, a copy of the one in BolognaSgerbic, Public domain
- A footpath to the pines on the Montemalaga hillside, with the bay belowSergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0
- Whitewashed arches of the Malaga Cove Plaza arcade on a spring morningTracie Hall, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Winter surf filling the horseshoe of Lunada Bay below the bluffstiarescott, CC BY 2.0
- A hilltop house catching the last light, just west of MontemalagaSergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0
- Cobblestones and green bluffs along the shore at Malaga Cove on a summer eveningLucas Madrigal, CC0 1.0
- Late afternoon sun on the cliffs around the Lunada Bay cove in DecemberSergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0
- A Mediterranean house above the bay in MontemalagaSergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0