West Valley · Los Angeles County
West Hills real estate
Valley Circle · Woodlake · Bell Canyon border · Justice Street
West Hills sits at the far western edge of the San Fernando Valley, backing into the Simi Hills. It was carved out of Canoga Park in the 1980s and still shares the 91304 ZIP along its eastern edge, which is a recurring source of confusion in listings and in tax records. The housing stock is dominated by single-family homes on generous lots, a lot of 1960s and 1970s tract construction, with larger custom properties as you climb toward Valley Circle and the Bell Canyon gate.
For sellers, the two things that move the number most here are lot usability and whether the home has been updated past its original footprint. Large flat lots support ADUs and additions, and that optionality is real money in this pocket. West Hills is inside City of Los Angeles limits, so the LA City documentary transfer tax applies on a sale, and Measure ULA applies above its threshold, unlike neighboring Bell Canyon or Calabasas, which are not in the city.
- ZIP codes
- 91307, 91304
- County
- Los Angeles County
- City of LA
- Yes
If you're selling
What it costs to sell in West Hills
West Hills is inside City of Los Angeles limits. That means a sale here pays the Los Angeles County documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000, plus the City of Los Angeles transfer tax of $4.50 per $1,000, about 0.56% of the sale price combined.
Above $5,400,000, Measure ULA also applies, at 4% of the entire gross sale price, not just the portion above the threshold, and not reduced by your mortgage or your original purchase price.
Reading on West Hills
- NeighborhoodsWinnetka Estates: what the name means and what it changesThe name shows up in listings and on street signs, but it isn't a City of Los Angeles neighborhood. Here's what it covers, how to find the tract you're actually in, and which of it matters to your price and your tax bill.
- SellingSelling a house in Calabasas: no ULA, the oak ordinance, and insuranceMeasure ULA stops at the City of Los Angeles line, and Calabasas — a general law city — hasn't adopted a transfer tax of its own. So the tax side is simple. The oak trees, the fire hazard zone, and the insurance binder are where Calabasas escrows actually get hard.
- SellingSelling a house in Canoga Park: the garage, the 9A, and the costsCombined city and county transfer tax is $5.60 per $1,000. But the two things that actually blow up a Canoga Park escrow are an unpermitted garage conversion and an open order to comply on the 9A report. Here's how to handle both before you list.
- NeighborhoodsSherwood Forest in Northridge: what the big lots actually changeSherwood Forest is the big-lot pocket of Northridge. The lot is what makes selling here different — zoning, septic, protected trees, unpermitted barns, and comps that refuse to line up.
- SellingSelling a house in Woodland Hills: the costs, the 9A, and the fire zoneThe 9A report, the transfer taxes, the fire zone south of the boulevard, and the unpermitted den nobody pulled a permit for in 1972. Here's what selling a Woodland Hills house actually costs, and the order to do it in.
- SellingSelling an inherited house in Ventura County: the real sequenceA trustee can sign the listing tomorrow. An executor waits on letters from the Ventura County Superior Court. Here's how to tell which one you are, what the step-up in basis saves you, and why Prop 19 only matters if you keep the house.
- BuyingLand for sale in Thousand Oaks: why there's so little, and what a build costsMost "land for sale" listings in Thousand Oaks aren't buildable. Here's how the three layers of open-space protection work, what to verify before your contingency runs out, and how your Prop 13 base can follow you onto a new build.
- Taxes & Closing CostsWhat is Measure ULA in Los Angeles? The 4% transfer tax, explainedULA is the City of LA's extra transfer tax on sales above roughly $5.15 million. It's charged on the whole sale price, not your gain, and crossing the threshold by a dollar can cost you six figures. Here's how it works in the West Valley.
- NeighborhoodsWalnut Acres, Woodland Hills: the boundaries, the trees, the tax billThe orchards are gone, the name stuck, and the trees that are left are protected by city ordinance. What Walnut Acres actually is, block by block — and what it costs to sell one of these houses.
- SellingSelling a house in Northridge: quake repairs, tenants, and the 9ATwo transfer taxes, a 9A report, 1994 repair permits, and student tenants with more protection than most owners expect. What a Northridge sale actually involves, in the order it happens.
- SellingSelling a house in West Hills: the costs, the 9A report, and the west edgeTwo documentary transfer taxes, a 9A report from LADBS, and a west edge with hillside lots, septic and fire-zone disclosure. Here's the real sequence and what each piece costs you.
- SellingSelling a house in Chatsworth: paperwork, taxes and the fire zoneChatsworth sits inside the City of Los Angeles, and that decides which reports you buy, which transfer taxes come out of your proceeds, and what you owe the buyer in writing before you close.
- SellingSelling a house in Winnetka: the costs, the 9A report, and the sequenceWinnetka is inside LA city limits, which changes what you owe and what you have to hand the buyer. Two transfer taxes, a 9A report from LADBS, and a permit history that better match the house.
- Moving costsChatsworth to Simi Valley: what the move over the 118 actually costsThe drive is fifteen minutes. The tax difference at closing can be five figures, and almost nobody accounts for it before they list.
- NeighborhoodsCanoga Park, West Hills or Winnetka? The ZIP codes overlap, and it mattersThree West Valley neighborhoods share the same ZIP codes and get marketed interchangeably. Here is where the lines actually fall and why it changes your comps.
- Prop 19Should you sell before you buy? If you're 55 or older, the order mattersProp 19 lets you carry your property tax base to a new home. Buying before you sell locks in the best version of that benefit.
Thinking about West Hills?
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