Home prices across the country soared during the pandemic, but at the top of the market, California kept its crown as the priciest state in the nation — by far.

A new study from PropertyShark found that California holds 89 of the 127 most expensive ZIP Codes in the country, or roughly 70%.

The report, which measured 2021 residential transactions that closed from Jan. 1 to Oct. 22, also named Los Angeles County as the highest-priced county in the country, with 21 ZIP Codes on the list. The Bay Area’s Santa Clara County ranked second with 15, and San Mateo County ranked third with 10.

For the fifth straight year, the Silicon Valley suburb of Atherton was the tip-top ZIP Code, with a median sales price of $7.475 million. Of the 28 houses currently up for grabs in the ultra-rich enclave, 22 are listed for more than $10 million.

L.A. County holds two ZIP Codes in the top 10: Beverly Hills’ 90210, where the median price was $4.125 million, and Santa Monica’s 90402, where the median price was $4.058 million.

Two other coastal communities tied for the 21st spot: Malibu’s 90265 and Pacific Palisades’ 90272, where the median price was $3.25 million. Manhattan Beach’s 90266 ranked 32nd at $2.91 million.

Malibu saw the priciest home sale in California history last month when billionaire Marc Andreessen paid $177 million for an oceanfront compound owned by fashion mogul Serge Azria.

Southern California was well represented beyond L.A. County, with Orange County holding nine ZIP Codes and Santa Barbara holding five — a significant leap after having just one in 2020.

San Diego’s Rancho Santa Fe held the 18th spot, where the median price was $3,399,000. The communities of Coronado and Del Mar also made the list.

In all, 127 ZIP Codes made the top 100 list — ties accounted for the extras — and all are found in 10 states: California (89), New York (17), Massachusetts (7), Connecticut (4), New Jersey (3), Nevada (2), Washington (2), Arizona (1), Florida (1) and Maryland (1).

The statistics should come as no surprise to Southern California home buyers, who saw median price records shattered over and over in the last year.

Source: LA Times Staff Writer Jack Flemming