Every Westside seller should study 12846 Highwood Street in Brentwood Park.
Not because it is gorgeous, although it is. Because it is the clearest pricing lesson of the year, and the market taught it in public.
The house
It is a warm contemporary finished in 2023, on a gated half acre. Five bedrooms, nine baths, 13,077 square feet.
And the amenities are the full Brentwood Park wish list: a Dolby Atmos theater, a wine tasting cellar, and a wellness center with a gym, sauna and massage room. If you have ever wanted to never leave your house, this was the house.
The three year journey to $26 million
First ask, 2023: $39.9 million, or $3,049 per square foot
Last ask: $34.5 million, or $2,638 per square foot
Closed, September 1, 2026: $26 million, or $1,988 per square foot
That final number is 35 percent below where it started. It also lands almost exactly where new Brentwood Park construction tends to trade, at about $2,000 per square foot.
In other words, after three years, the market paid what the market was always going to pay.
Then the mansion tax showed up
At $26 million, the sale fell into the top bracket of Measure ULA. That is 5.5 percent of the entire price, paid by the seller. Roughly $1.43 million, gone at closing.
Brentwood is inside the City of Los Angeles, so there was no avoiding it. Here is the part that stings: the same sale a few miles east in Beverly Hills would not have owed it. My full breakdown of how the tax works is in this week's Measure ULA guide.
What every seller can take from this
Your first price is your best shot. The longer a home sits, the more buyers wonder why. Carrying costs keep running the whole time.
Amenities help, but comps win. A theater and a sauna make a home memorable. They do not make buyers ignore what similar homes sold for.
Put the tax in your net sheet on day one. Above $10.9 million, 5.5 percent of the full price is not a rounding error. It is a decision.
Price per square foot is the gravity of your neighborhood. You can fight it for a while. It usually wins.
The short version
This was a beautiful home that sold for a fair price. The lesson is not about the house. It is about how much time, money and negotiating power a seller can save by starting at the right number.
If you are thinking about selling in Brentwood or the Palisades, I will build your net sheet at every likely price, mansion tax included, before we ever go live. Call or text 310.480.0288, or email alex@flynnla.com.
Alex Flynn | The Beverly Hills Estates | DRE 01958142. Alex Flynn did not represent either party in this transaction. Seller represented by Kurt Rappaport, Westside Estate Agency; buyer represented by Josh Flagg, Compass, as reported.
Sources
Brentwood Park mansion sells for $26M amid L.A. mansion tax, Hoodline, Sept 3, 2026 (sale price, home details, price history, mansion tax amount, agents, Brentwood Park price per square foot)
