In September 2026, a four-bedroom house at 250 S Chadbourne Ave in Brentwood closed at $10,750,000. That is $150,000 below the line where the City of Los Angeles moves a sale from its 4% Measure ULA bracket to its 5.5% bracket. At that price the ULA tax works out to about $430,000. If the same house had closed at $10,900,000, the tax would have been about $599,500. So $150,000 more in price would have meant roughly $169,500 more in tax.
That arithmetic explains more about Brentwood's upper market than any median does. Measure ULA charges its rate on the full sale price once a sale crosses a threshold, so the thresholds act like cliffs. In 2026, those cliffs decide which homes trade, at what price, and whether a sale happens at all. The headline numbers mostly reflect that sorting.
Every Dollar Is Taxed Once a Sale Crosses the Line
The City of Los Angeles adds a base transfer tax of 0.45% to every sale. For transactions closing after June 30, 2026, the Los Angeles Office of Finance lists two ULA thresholds: 4% on sales above $5,400,000 and below $10,900,000, and 5.5% on sales of $10,900,000 or more. That makes the combined rates 4.45% and 5.95%. The thresholds change every year with the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chained Consumer Price Index, which is why older articles still quote $5.3 million and $10.6 million.
The ULA rate is a percentage of the whole price, not of the amount above the threshold. That puts a jump in the tax bill right at each line:
| Sale price | ULA bracket | Approximate ULA owed |
|---|---|---|
| $5,400,000 | None | $0 |
| $5,400,001 | 4% | $216,000 |
| $10,750,000 | 4% | $430,000 |
| $10,899,999 | 4% | $436,000 |
| $10,900,000 | 5.5% | $599,500 |
| $26,000,000 | 5.5% | $1,430,000 |
Base transfer tax comes on top of every row. Because of the first cliff, a house that sells at $5.4 million and one that sells for a few dollars more leave the seller with very different amounts. A sale just above the line only makes sense for the seller if the price rises well past it, roughly enough to cover the tax. So buyers and sellers tend to settle below the line, or the price has to jump well above it.
September's Median Rose 50%. Price per Square Foot Didn't Move.
The MLS market snapshot for Brentwood single-family homes in September 2026 shows how this skews the headline figures. In September 2025, the median sold price was $4,350,000. In September 2026, it was $6,545,000, up 50%. In the same comparison, average price per square foot went from $1,617.36 to $1,617.46, essentially unchanged.
A median can rise 50% while the price per square foot stays flat only if a different set of homes sold. The snapshot shows that. Closed sales dropped from 25 to 17, and average days on market rose from 47 to 78. There were fewer sales, they took longer, and they skewed toward bigger homes.
The September 2026 closing prices, in order, show where the thresholds fall:
- Above $10.9 million: $26,000,000 on Highwood St, $21,145,000 on Marlboro St, $11,260,000 on S Carmelina Ave
- Just under $10.9 million: $10,750,000 on S Chadbourne Ave
- Between the lines: $9,072,825, $7,850,000, $7,700,000, $7,125,000, $6,545,000
- Nothing closed between $5,000,000 and $6,545,000
- At or under $5.4 million: $5,000,000, $4,020,000, $4,010,000, $3,952,560, $3,126,000, $2,962,500, $2,100,000, $1,900,000
Seventeen sales in one month is a small sample, and one month is not a trend. Still, the empty stretch just above $5.4 million and the sale just under $10.9 million are the pattern this tax structure would predict. Nine of the 17 sales closed above $5.4 million, so a little more than half of September's Brentwood sales were large enough to pay ULA.
Where the Missing Sales Went
The citywide research matches the gap. A UCLA Anderson working paper dated July 25, 2025 studied the original $5 million cutoff. It found 47% more sales in the $4.95 million to $5 million range than in the first range above the line. After the tax took effect, monthly sales in the $4 million to $5 million tier ran three to five times higher than in the $5 million to $6 million tier. The author describes a "strong incentive for buyers and sellers in the proximity of the notch to not transact." Researchers at the UCLA Lewis Center reported in April 2025 that the odds of a Los Angeles property selling above its threshold had fallen by as much as 50%.
Some of the sales that never happened turned into renovations. In July 2026, The Real Deal reported on Gesh Group, a luxury homebuilder. Founder Oren Levy said his work had shifted from about 80% new development and 20% remodels before ULA to about 60% remodels and 40% new builds. The same report cited Attom Data Solutions figures showing a 46% increase in remodel permits for high-priced homes in the City of Los Angeles. An owner who would face a six-figure tax to sell has a reason to put that money into the house they already own.
For buyers, that means fewer finished, updated homes reach the market in the bracket just above $5.4 million. The homes that do list there often come from sellers who have already decided the move is worth the tax.
Brentwood Pays More of This Tax Than Any Other ZIP Code
None of this has made Brentwood a small contributor. In August 2026, The Real Deal reported that ZIP code 90049, which covers Brentwood, had generated $125.5 million in ULA revenue across 240 transactions, based on city data through June 2026. Bel Air and Holmby Hills in 90077 followed with $98 million, and Pacific Palisades in 90272 with $68.2 million.
The largest Brentwood sale in September shows what that looks like at the top. The Real Deal reported the $26 million sale of 12846 Highwood Street in Brentwood Park. It is a 13,077-square-foot spec home completed in 2023. According to Hoodline, it closed on September 1 at $1,988 per square foot. The home was first listed in 2023 at $39.9 million and most recently at $34.5 million. At 5.5%, the ULA bill comes to about $1.43 million. Far above the second line, the tax is one more large closing cost. Sales still happen, with the tax built into the price.
So in Brentwood the cliffs matter most at the two lines, around $5.4 million and $10.9 million. Brentwood's homes sell across both of them often, which is one reason its tax total is so high.
A Few Blocks West, the Lines Are in Different Places
Brentwood borders Santa Monica, which has its own transfer tax with different breakpoints. The City of Santa Monica lists tiers in effect since March 1, 2023: $3 per $1,000 below $5 million, $6 per $1,000 from $5 million to under $8 million, and $56 per $1,000 at $8 million or more. The text of Measure GS fixes those thresholds and includes no inflation adjustment.
So a $7 million home on the Santa Monica side pays a modest tier, while the same price in Brentwood falls into ULA's 4% bracket. At $9 million, Santa Monica's top tier applies and Brentwood is still at 4%. Los Angeles moves its lines up each year with inflation, and Santa Monica's stay put. A buyer comparing homes across that boundary is comparing two different tax schedules along with two different houses.
What the November 3 Ballot Changes, and What It Leaves Alone
Two measures on the November 3 ballot touch these rules, each in a narrow way, and a third proposal that would have gone further was pulled.
Proposition TE is on the City of Los Angeles ballot. According to the city's voter information pamphlet, it would give a one-time ULA exemption or refund for residential property damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire. The property must be sold by its owner of record on January 7, 2025, between January 7, 2025 and January 6, 2030. The city estimates the exemption would reduce ULA revenue by $35 million to $66 million through January 2030. In Brentwood, the fire did reach Mandeville Canyon. ABC7 reported at least one home burned there. Most Brentwood sales would not qualify.
Proposition 43 is statewide. It would raise the vote needed for voter-proposed local special taxes from a majority to two-thirds beginning January 1, 2027, according to the Secretary of State's voter guide. It would not repeal ULA, and CalMatters reports the change would not apply retroactively.
The statewide transfer-tax cap is not on the ballot. CalMatters reported that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association withdrew it in a June 2026 compromise that left real estate transfer taxes untouched. In court, California's Second District Court of Appeal affirmed dismissal of a challenge to ULA on December 15, 2025.
For an ordinary Brentwood sale, the $5.4 million and $10.9 million lines will stay in place after the election.
FAQ
Is ULA owed by the buyer or the seller? In the Highwood Street sale, Hoodline reported the ULA bill as owed by the seller. Who pays in any other sale is a question for your attorney and escrow team.
Will the thresholds be different next year? Yes. The City adjusts them each year using the Chained CPI, so check the Office of Finance page for the figures that apply to your closing date.
Does every home with a 90049 ZIP code pay ULA? ULA applies to property conveyed within the City of Los Angeles. Brentwood is inside the city. Santa Monica, next door, uses its own Measure GS tiers instead.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how ULA or any transfer tax applies to your sale with a qualified tax professional or real estate attorney.
Joanna Steinberg can walk you through recent Brentwood sales on both sides of the $5.4 million and $10.9 million lines and plan a listing or offer strategy that takes the tax into account. Work With JoJo.
