Beverly Hills
From Bean Fields to Beverly Hills
In 1900, a group of investors led by Burton Green bought a ranch west of Los Angeles that had been planted in lima beans, and they drilled it for oil. They found very little oil, but they did find water, and water was enough to support a town. The investors reorganized as the Rodeo Land and Water Company, hired landscape architect Wilbur Cook to lay out curving, tree-lined streets, and began selling lots under the name Beverly Hills. The Beverly Hills Hotel opened in 1912 to give prospective buyers somewhere to stay, and the city incorporated two years later.
Beverly Hills has kept its independence since then. Residents voted down a proposal to join Los Angeles in 1923. The city still runs its own police department, fire department, and schools.
Much of the original plan is still visible. Each residential street was planted with a single kind of tree, so one block may be lined with jacarandas and the next with palms or magnolias. Greystone Mansion, the Doheny family estate completed in 1928, now belongs to the city. Its gardens are open as a public park. The “Swim Gym” at Beverly Hills High School has a basketball floor built to slide open over a swimming pool, which is how it ended up in It’s a Wonderful Life.
The Neighborhoods of Beverly Hills
Most people picture the Flats, the grid of wide streets between Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards where large single-family homes stand side by side in almost every architectural style. North of Sunset the lots get bigger and the streets begin winding into the canyons. Above them is Trousdale Estates, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s and is known for single-story mid-century modern houses with city views.
South of Wilshire, the housing is mostly smaller homes, duplexes, and condo buildings. For many buyers these are the practical way into the city and into Beverly Hills Unified School District.
Beverly Hills Schools
Beverly Hills Unified serves the whole city and holds an A+ from Niche. Elementary students attend schools such as Hawthorne, Horace Mann, and El Rodeo before moving on to middle school and Beverly Hills High School. Because enrollment depends on living inside the city limits, the district is a common reason buyers choose to live here.
The Subway Reaches Beverly Hills
For decades, getting in or out of Beverly Hills has meant driving Wilshire, Santa Monica, or Sunset, usually slowly. That began to change on May 8, 2026, when the Metro D Line extension opened three stations along Wilshire, including Wilshire/La Cienega at the city’s eastern edge. The station that will matter most to residents comes next. Metro projects a spring 2027 opening for Beverly Dr Station (known in planning as Wilshire/Rodeo), whose entrance at Wilshire and Reeves Drive is a short walk from Rodeo Drive, along with a station in Century City next door.
New rail service tends to change what buyers will pay for homes within walking distance, and we looked at that question in What the Purple Line Coming to the Westside Means for Culver City and LA Property Values. Until the trains arrive, the drive to Downtown Culver City takes about 20 minutes, assuming the traffic isn’t too terrible.
Parks and Gardens
Beverly Gardens Park runs for nearly two miles along Santa Monica Boulevard. Tourists love to photograph the lily pond and the Beverly Hills sign. Residents are more likely to use Roxbury Park, south of Olympic, for its tennis courts, ball fields, and playgrounds. Or, they’ll do their weekly shopping at the Sunday farmers market on Civic Center Drive. Will Rogers Memorial Park, a small garden across from the Beverly Hills Hotel, is usually a quiet place to sit.
Selling in Beverly Hills
The city line has a direct effect on a seller’s proceeds. The City of Los Angeles charges its Measure ULA transfer tax on sales above a threshold that currently sits a little over $5 million, and that tax does not apply in Beverly Hills because it is a separate city. On a high-priced sale, a Beverly Hills seller can keep hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the same sale would leave across the border in Los Angeles.
For condo owners south of Wilshire, the main preparation is paperwork. Buyers are entitled to a set of homeowners association documents, and gathering them early keeps escrow from stalling. What HOA Documents Must Los Angeles County Sellers Provide? lists them, and when you sell with our team we take that burden off your hands.
For larger homes, how the property is presented and how buyers are screened count for a great deal. Here’s What You Need to Know About Selling Your Luxury Home in Los Angeles explains how Martin handles those listings. Buyers can search for a listing, and those who want a quieter residential pocket close by may also like Beverlywood West.
Beverly Hills with Martin Feinberg
Martin Feinberg has sold Westside real estate for decades. If you own in Beverly Hills and want to understand your options, reach out for a confidential conversation about what your property could sell for and what you would keep after closing.
Check out properties I’ve sold in this neighborhood. If you’re interested in buying or selling a property in the neighborhood, call me at 310.729.6573 or scroll down to schedule a meeting.