The Westside's Best Kept Secret Is Getting Out
Palms in zip code 90034 has long been overlooked by Los Angeles investors focused on the usual suspects like Santa Monica, Venice, or Brentwood. That oversight is rapidly changing. Palms now represents one of the most compelling entry points on the entire Westside, combining affordability, strong rent growth, and a demographic shift that is reshaping the neighborhood's investment profile. If you have been searching for a market where you can still find value on the Westside, Palms is the answer.
Why Palms Is the Most Affordable Westside Market
Let us start with the basics. The average price per unit in Palms sits around $340,000, making it significantly more accessible than neighboring Westwood ($400K), Culver City ($450K+), or Marina del Rey ($500K+). This pricing differential is not a reflection of inferior quality. It is a reflection of historical perception that has not yet caught up to the neighborhood's transformation.
For investors, this gap represents opportunity. You can acquire quality multifamily stock at Westside prices that would have been unthinkable five years ago. The median home price in Palms reached $1.39 million in late 2025, with year-over-year appreciation at 7.7 percent. These numbers confirm what savvy investors already know: Palms is not a discount market. It is an appreciating market that still trades at a discount to its neighbors.
Culver City and Silicon Beach Spillover Is Real
The technology and entertainment industries have concentrated in Culver City and the broader Silicon Beach region, drawing thousands of young professionals to the Westside each year. These workers need housing, but the prices in Culver City proper have skyrocketed beyond what many can afford. That is where Palms comes in.
Palms sits immediately adjacent to Culver City, offering a fifteen-minute commute to major studios, tech offices, and creative industry hubs. Young professionals earning $80,000 to \$150,000 annually are actively choosing Palms over more expensive neighborhoods because they get more apartment for their money, better parking, and easier access to the Expo Line. This demand shift is not temporary. It is structural, driven by the continued growth of Los Angeles's creative economy.
Expo Line Access Creates Transit-Oriented Demand
Speaking of the Expo Line, Palms is one of the few Westside neighborhoods with direct rail access. The Palms station connects riders directly to Downtown Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and Santa Monica without a transfer. This is a significant amenity for the demographic that dominates the area's rental market.
Tenants who work in Downtown, mid-Wilshire, or along the Exposition Corridor are actively seeking Palms because it offers car-free commuting options that most Westside neighborhoods cannot match. This transit accessibility expands your tenant pool beyond the immediate area, making your property more attractive to a broader range of renters.
Demographics Favor Strong Rental Demand
The tenant profile in Palms skews young, professional, and upwardly mobile. Median rent in the neighborhood sits at approximately $3,395 per month, with year-over-year growth of 3.51 percent and three-year growth exceeding 13 percent. These are not modest increases. They represent a sustained demand trajectory that supports continued rent growth.
What makes this demographic especially attractive for investors is its stability. Young professionals may rent for three to five years before buying, and many will continue renting as they advance in their careers. Unlike student-dominated neighborhoods where turnover is extremely high, Palms offers a more stable tenant base that balances occupancy with rent growth potential.
Value-Add Opportunities Abound
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Palms for investors is the prevalence of older stock that presents clear value-add opportunities. Many buildings in the 90034 zip code date from the 1960s and 1970s and have not received significant renovations. These properties can be acquired at a discount, upgraded with modern finishes, and repositioned at higher rent levels.
The math is straightforward. If you purchase a twenty-unit building at $340,000 per unit, invest $15,000 to $25,000 per unit in renovations, and increase rents by $200 to $400 per month, your returns compound quickly. With cap rates in Palms averaging 5.1 percent compared to 4.8 percent in Westwood, the initial cash flow is actually stronger here, and the appreciation upside may be even greater.
Gentrification Is Accelerating, Not Slowing
The narrative around Palms is changing rapidly. New restaurants, coffee shops, and retail establishments have opened along National Boulevard and Palms Boulevard, transforming the neighborhood's commercial core. This is classic gentrification in its most investment-friendly phase: enough change to drive appreciation, but not so much that entry prices have already captured the upside.
Investors should note that Palms currently has forty-two active home listings and three hundred ninety-nine rental listings, indicating healthy market activity without the extreme scarcity that drives Westwood prices. Days on market average eighty-five, which is reasonable for a market that is actively evolving. The sale-to-list price ratio of 98 percent shows that buyers and sellers are finding equilibrium, a sign of a healthy, functioning market.
Investment Thesis Summary
Palms represents the Westside's best combination of affordability, cash flow, and appreciation potential. Average unit pricing of $340,000 with 5.1 percent cap rates beats comparable Westside markets on entry cost and initial returns. Vacancy rates around 4.1 percent are manageable, and one-bedroom rents averaging $2,150 per month position your property competitively for the young professional demographic.
If you want Westside exposure but cannot afford the premiums in Westwood or Santa Monica, Palms is your market. The Culver City spillover, Expo Line access, value-add potential, and ongoing gentrification make this one of the most compelling investment opportunities in Los Angeles right now. Do not expect Palms to stay under the radar for much longer.
