Beverly Hills and Westside Luxury Real Estate Trends 2026

• Wellness amenities including saunas, steam rooms, red light therapy rooms, and Pilates studios are appearing as standard build-out instead of upgrades
• Cash purchasing reached an all-time high in the year ending June 2025, with nearly one in three repeat buyers paying cash rather than financing¹
• Turn-key condition operates as a screening criterion, with buyers weighing the permitting timeline alongside the cost of the work
• The Valerie Fitzgerald Group represents sellers across Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu

Beverly Hills, CA, Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Beverly Hills and Westside luxury real estate trends shaping 2026 fall into two groups. What buyers expect has settled around wellness design, indoor-outdoor living, discreet smart-home technology, sustainable systems and turn-key condition. How they transact has moved toward cash and advisors who assemble a short list before the buyer sees a property. Both shifts push a seller's preparation earlier in the calendar and raise a home's market value. The Valerie Fitzgerald Group tracks how each plays out across Beverly Hills and the Westside of Los Angeles. Founder Valerie Fitzgerald has represented more than $3.5 billion in closed Los Angeles luxury sales over more than 20 years.

"There is no shortage of buyers in this market, but there is a shortage of homes worth selling them," said Valerie Fitzgerald, Founder and CEO of The Valerie Fitzgerald Group and author of Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Thrive in Real Estate. "We're seeing that preparation drives the outcome, and finished homes that provide access to wellness amenities, indoor-outdoor living, and privacy are moving luxury buyers."

Key Facts:

• The Valerie Fitzgerald Group reaches 52,000+ newsletter subscribers
• Valerie Fitzgerald has been ranked among Coldwell Banker's Top 10 agents nationwide, with 20+ years representing properties across the Westside of Los Angeles.

What luxury buyers expect in 2026, and what is driving it

Wellness amenities have become a baseline expectation in luxury homes

Wellness has moved to the center of luxury design, with buyers at the top of the market increasingly expecting amenities such as dedicated spas, fitness and recovery spaces, natural and circadian lighting, and red light therapy rooms. The global wellness real estate market reached $584 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly double to $1.1 trillion by 2029, according to the Global Wellness Institute.² On the Westside, that shows up as buyers who consider fitness studios, theaters and integrated smart-home systems as part of a home's core value.

Move-in-ready expectations rise across the Los Angeles Westside

Turn-key condition functions as a screening criterion for buyers at this level, since renovating a Westside property involves a permitting and review process before work can begin. Beverly Hills applies height ordinances and design reviews that shape both what can be changed and how long the approval takes. The Valerie Fitzgerald Group finds that buyers weighing a property with deferred maintenance are pricing that timeline alongside the repair itself. Turn-key or move-in-ready inventory across the Westside spans newly built single-family homes, renovated period properties, full-service condominium residences where the building handles maintenance and repairs, and estates brought to market after a full renovation. 

What buyers look for beyond condition depends on the neighborhood:

Cash is deciding which homes above $10 million actually trade

According to the National Association of Realtors, 30% of repeat buyers paid cash rather than financing in the 12 months ending June 2025, and the share of all buyers paying cash reached an all-time high.¹ A buyer paying cash is not borrowing or loaning money, so mortgage rates do not affect the deal. That split shows up in the numbers: sales above $10 million have remained steady while financed segments below have slowed. The pricing lesson for sellers is to benchmark a home over $10 million against comparable cash sales. A financed sale below that reflects conditions that do not apply to a cash purchase at the top of the market.

"I learned a long time ago that the highest number isn't always the best offer," Fitzgerald said. "With cash, there's no appraisal and no loan to clear, so there's a lot less that can fall apart before you close. That certainty is valuable to a seller."

High-net-worth purchases are acquired through expert recommendation

Wealthy buyers rarely search on their own. A family office, wealth advisor, business manager, or buyer's broker takes the buyer's criteria, narrows the market to a few properties, and sets up viewings. A property makes that short list one of two ways: the representative already had it on their radar, or the listing agent brought it to them directly. Public listing sites come into play later, only after a property is already in the running. The Valerie Fitzgerald Group maintains a subscriber audience that receives market updates directly, and has consulted on the sales and marketing of The Century, The Carlyle, and Latitude 33.

Privacy and shared amenities are driving neighborhood selection

Buyers at this level evaluate the neighborhood before the house. The Valerie Fitzgerald Group has written that Bel Air properties tend to be built around views, privacy, and land use, with gated estates and long private driveways setting the character of the area. Beverly Hills works the other way, geared toward an outward-facing lifestyle where wellness, shopping, dining, and daily errands are all close at hand. These are features that can't be added to a property through renovation, so the qualities retain their value through a remodel. 

Staging and photography are settled before the launch date

Owners who have been sitting on a property usually list once the market feels settled, so many of these sellers come to market at the same time. That means a seller launching now runs into more competition than someone who listed a year ago, so it pays to have staging and photography done before launch day. A listing reaches its qualified audience in its first week on the market, and that's the impression buyers act on.

The luxury real estate trends point to homes valued for how they support daily life, privacy, buyer pool, and long-term ownership. Across Beverly Hills and the Westside, The Valerie Fitzgerald Group is positioning sellers around the priorities now leading the luxury real estate market through 2026.

Sources:
¹ National Association of Realtors, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
² Global Wellness Institute, "Build Well to Live Well: The Future”

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What are the best luxury features of high-net-worth homes?
Answer: Dedicated wellness space, protected privacy, integrated home systems, and turn-key condition. Wellness build-out and privacy carry the most weight at the top of the market, and condition tends to separate comparable properties once those are satisfied. The Valerie Fitzgerald Group is seeing these priorities decide offers across the Westside.

Question: How do off-market listings work in Beverly Hills?
Answer: An off-market property is shown through broker networks and never enters the MLS or a public listing site. Access depends on the representative already tracking the property or on the listing agent bringing it forward directly. Buyers working at this level often ask for pocket listing access specifically, since a meaningful share of estates above $10 million trade before public marketing.

Question: What smart home features do buyers expect in a $20 million estate?
Answer: Integrated climate, lighting, security, and sound that run without visible hardware or a learning curve. Systems demanding constant attention read as unfinished. Valerie Fitzgerald notes that discretion is the expectation: technology supporting how the home is used rather than technology presented as a feature in its own right.

Question: What move-in-ready home options are available to Los Angeles residents?
Answer: Turn-key inventory across the Westside includes newly built single-family homes, renovated period properties, full-service condominium residences where the building handles maintenance and repairs, and estates brought to market after a full renovation. Availability varies by neighborhood, with condominiums concentrated in Beverly Hills and Century City.

Question: What do international buyers evaluate when purchasing in Los Angeles?
Answer: Turn-key condition matters more, since managing a renovation from abroad is impractical. Full-service condominium residences appeal for the same reason, as the building handles maintenance and repairs during periods when the owner is not in residence. Privacy and security provisions are typically assessed earlier in the process than they are for local purchasers.

About The Valerie Fitzgerald Group

Valerie Fitzgerald is a luxury real estate expert, entrepreneur, author, speaker, television personality, and founder of the Valerie Fitzgerald Group, one of Los Angeles’ most recognized luxury real estate brands. With decades of experience representing premier properties across Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Malibu, and the Westside, she has been ranked among Coldwell Banker’s Top 10 agents nationwide and recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal for her exceptional sales achievements.

Valerie gained national recognition through her role on HGTV’s Selling LA and has consulted on the sales and marketing of landmark luxury condominium developments including The Century, The Carlyle, and Latitude 33. She is also a TED speaker, author of Heart and Sold, host of Real Estate, Real Laughs, and creator of the upcoming podcast Queen B: Grit, Grace & Reinvention. Through her work, Valerie shares insights on entrepreneurship, resilience, personal growth, and building success through life’s many reinventions.