What a Dana Point agent helps you decide right now
Dana Point is a small coastal city in south Orange County: 6.49 square miles of land, according to the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer, and 32,790 residents in the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey. It is split between two ZIP codes. ZIP 92629 covers most of the city, from Monarch Beach and the Lantern District to the harbor, and 92624 covers Capistrano Beach on the south side. The two ZIPs sit close in value: Zillow put 92629 at $1,790,155 and 92624 at $1,704,699 in September 2026.
What separates one home from the next is not the ZIP but the lot: ocean view or not, bluff or flat, inside a guard gate or on an open street, and whether the land is owned outright. The housing stock is older than most of south Orange County. The Census puts the median year built at 1979, and 84% of the city's 16,484 homes were built before 1990. About 52% are detached houses, 14% are attached townhouses and the rest sit in buildings of two or more units.
Dana Point is also a second-home market. The Census counted 1,744 homes, about 11% of the total, held vacant for seasonal or occasional use. That matters to buyers because those owners sell on their own timeline, and to sellers because many buyers here pay cash or carry large down payments.
The two price measures agree on direction. Redfin counted 113 sales in the three months to September 2026, 2.5% more than a year earlier, at a median of $1,096 per square foot. Zillow's typical value rose 6.8% over the year, 44.9% over five years and 120.9% over ten.
Buying a home in Dana Point
Supply is thin but not frozen. Redfin counted 126 homes for sale at the end of September 2026, 6.3% fewer than a year earlier, or 3.4 months of supply. The median home went under contract in 47 days, and 30.4% went off the market within two weeks. These are the steps that matter most here.
Dana Point buyer step 1: work out the monthly cost
Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 7.24% in the week of October 29, 2026. On Redfin's $2,099,000 median, a 20% down payment of $419,800 leaves a loan of $1,679,200 and a principal and interest payment of about $11,444 a month. Property tax adds about $1,764 a month: 141 of the 146 Dana Point tax rate areas in the county's 2026-27 rate book carry a total rate of 1.00850%, the 1% base levy plus a Metropolitan Water District charge. Special assessments are billed on top, so read the seller's latest bill. Our Orange County property tax guide shows how a new bill is set.
Dana Point buyer step 2: decide between 92629 and 92624
Redfin's three-month figures to September 2026 show the split. In 92629, 51 detached houses sold at a median of $2,814,290 and 35 condos at $1,359,460. In 92624, 18 detached houses sold at a median of $2,054,482, and only one condo sold. If you want a detached house under the city median, Capistrano Beach is usually where the search starts.
Dana Point buyer step 3: check the land, not just the house
Some Monarch Bay homes have sat on leased land. A city development report from December 2025 said Monarch Bay has seen more rebuilding as owners move from leasing to owning their lots. Ask the listing agent whether the sale includes the land in fee simple, and have your lender and title officer confirm it before you remove contingencies.
Dana Point buyer step 4: check rental rules before you count on income
Dana Point caps short-term rental permits. The city allows 115 in the coastal zone for non-primary, multifamily and mixed-use parcels, and 115 outside it, of which 60 can be non-primary. Applications past the cap go on a waitlist, and the city will not issue a permit without HOA approval. A home's current permit status is on the city's published list and map.
Selling a home in Dana Point
Sellers have a firmer market than in most of Orange County. Redfin's Dana Point homes sold at 98.3% of list price on average in the three months to September 2026, and 28.8% sold above list. New listings rose 5.6% from a year earlier, so you will compete with more homes than last fall.
Dana Point seller step 1: price from your own pocket of the city
A citywide median mixes oceanfront estates with 600-square-foot condos. Ask for comparable sales from your own street or HOA in the past six months, matched on view, lot and condition. Redfin's median for detached houses in 92629 was 37% higher than in 92624 over the three months to September 2026, so the right comparable set changes the answer by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Dana Point seller step 2: plan for older systems
The median Dana Point home was built in 1979. Buyers will ask about roofs, plumbing, electrical panels and sewer lines. A pre-listing inspection lets you fix or price those items before a buyer's inspector finds them. California disclosure rules are covered in our seller disclosure guide.
Dana Point seller step 3: know your coastal permits
Much of Dana Point sits in the coastal zone, where additions, ADUs and many remodels need a Coastal Development Permit. Pull your permit history from the city before listing. Unpermitted work near the bluffs or the sand slows escrow and can change a buyer's lender or insurer.
Dana Point areas at a glance
Zillow does not publish neighborhood values for Dana Point, so this section describes each area from city plans and public listings rather than a price index. Use the ZIP figures above for price.
Lantern District (Town Center)
The historic downtown along Del Prado Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, near the harbor. The city's Town Center Plan sets a framework of public improvements to draw private reinvestment, and recent mixed-use buildings put condos and apartments over shops. Del Prado Place, an 18-unit condo building, was due for completion in the first quarter of 2026, according to a December 2025 city report.
Monarch Beach and Monarch Bay
The north end of the city near Salt Creek Beach and the resort hotels. Monarch Bay is a guard-gated enclave: 20 Monarch Bay, built in 2015, closed at $12,995,000 on September 18, 2026. Nearby Monarch Hills has guard-gated condos, one of which closed at $875,000 in August 2026.
The Strand at Headlands
A gated community of custom homes on the Dana Point Headlands, above Strands Beach. The city's plan for the 121.3-acre site allows 118 single-family homes plus a 28-acre conservation park. The city said in December 2025 that only three vacant parcels remain.
Niguel Shores and Monarch Bay Terrace
Two established residential neighborhoods; a local brokerage describes Niguel Shores as established, upscale residential streets. Rebuilds here can price like the gated enclaves: a newly completed single-level house on Caribbean Drive in Monarch Bay Terrace closed at $12,995,000 in March 2026.
Capistrano Beach
The ZIP 92624 side of the city, south of Doheny State Beach. Homes are mostly older single-family houses and small condo buildings. Redfin's 92624 house median was $2,054,482 in the three months to September 2026. Palisades Elementary is on Via Sacramento.
Doheny Village
The mixed commercial, light-industrial and residential area inland of Doheny State Beach. The city adopted new Doheny Village zoning in July 2021, and the Coastal Commission certified it in February 2023. A 306-unit rental apartment project on the former school-district bus yard at 26126 Victoria Boulevard was in building plan check in early 2026.
Property checks for a Dana Point home
- Bluffs and slopes. Many view lots sit on coastal bluffs or graded slopes. Ask for geotechnical reports and check the Natural Hazard Disclosure for landslide zones.
- Sea level and flooding. The city commissioned a sea level rise vulnerability assessment, finished in October 2019, covering storm waves, tsunamis and upland flooding. For a beach-level home, read it and search the parcel on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
- Fire hazard zone. Look up the address on CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map and read our California wildfire zones guide. Cal OES MyHazards shows fire, flood and earthquake layers together.
- Insurance. Get a homeowners quote before you remove contingencies. If the standard market declines the home, see our California FAIR Plan guide.
- HOA documents. Gated areas and condo buildings carry dues and rules. Read the budget, reserve study and recent minutes. Our California HOA laws guide lists what the seller must provide.
- Land tenure. Confirm that the land is owned, not leased, in older Monarch Bay and coastal tracts.
- Taxes on top of the 1%. Check the current bill for special assessments. The Mello-Roos guide explains special taxes.
How to choose a real estate agent in Dana Point
The right agent for a Capistrano Beach condo is rarely the right one for a Strand estate. Interview two or three and ask each one:
- How many homes have you sold in my part of Dana Point in the past two years, and at what prices?
- Which recent sales would you use to price this home, and why those and not others?
- How do you handle coastal permits, bluff reports and leased-land questions?
- What is your plan if the home has not sold after 47 days, the city's current median?
- Who on your team will actually show the home and answer my calls?
Check each agent's license on the California Department of Real Estate's public license lookup. Since the 2024 rule changes, buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring, and that agreement states how the agent is paid. Commission is negotiable and is not set by law. Our California real estate commission guide explains the options. If you want a starting point, read about our featured local agent and how we chose him.
More Dana Point guides
For a fuller picture, read living in Dana Point, our Dana Point schools guide, Dana Point condos, new homes in Dana Point, Dana Point crime data and the Dana Point ZIP code guide. ZIP-level history is on the 92629 data page and the 92624 data page, and county figures on the Orange County data page. To compare nearby, see Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Beach.