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"Shen Schulz knows real estate and they know how to serve their clients. Buy or sell, either way, you want them on your side."
- Unsubstantiated Review

How the New Malibu School District Could Boost Your Home's Value

Bodhi Schulz
BEFORE YOU READ: (For quick reading check the "Too Long Didn't Read's" at the beginning of each section) Last Updated: May 2026 On December 8, 2025, the Malibu City Council unanimously ratified the final separation package that will eventually peel Malibu schools off from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. The vote followed...

Humaliwo: What "Malibu" Actually Means

Kai Schulz
The word "Malibu" isn't English. It isn't Spanish. It's an anglicized version of a Chumash word, Humaliwo, sometimes written Humaliwu, that has been spoken on this coastline for longer than most of the world's major cities have existed. And the place it referred to wasn't a region or a stretch...

Malibu's New Power Buyers: Tech Founders, Politicians, and Where They're Quietly Buying Malibu Real Estate

Bodhi Schulz
On a leafy street in Point Dume, a black SUV idles outside a four-bedroom house that until December belonged to a producer most people had never heard of. The new owner is the former Vice President of the United States. About a mile away, a Google co-founder just dropped roughly...

Jungleland USA: When Thousand Oaks Was a Wild-Animal Capital

Kai Schulz
If you'd stood at the corner of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Conejo School Road in the summer of 1965, you could have heard a lion roar in broad daylight. The sound wouldn't have been coming from a film reel or a memory. It would have been coming from a cage about...

How Telling a Home's Story Gets it Sold

Kai Schulz
One of the most powerful ways to truly connect with a home is through its story. From the local cultural evolution of coastal communities like Venice Beach and Malibu to the historical significance of a neighborhood, the legacy surrounding a property is what builds emotional value. Think of it as...

Malibu Short-Term Rental Rules: Permits, Taxes & Fines Explained

Bodhi Schulz
BEFORE YOU READ: (For quick reading check the "Too Long Didn't Read's" at the beginning of each section) Two ordinances govern the short-term rental of property in Malibu, and only one of them is currently enforceable. For the better part of a decade, owners of single-family homes, guest houses, and...

Carbon Beach Malibu: Inside Billionaire's Beach

Bodhi Schulz
Seventy oceanfront lots stretch a mile and a half between the Malibu Pier and Carbon Canyon Road. That's it. That's Carbon Beach in its entirety, and that scarcity is why one sale here can change comps and averages for the rest of Malibu. Carbon Beach is the most expensive piece...

Malibu ADU Guide: Fire Rebuilds, Permits & Investment Strategy

Bodhi Schulz
BEFORE YOU READ: (For quick reading check the "Too Long Didn't Read's" at the beginning of each section) Two laws have rewired the math on Malibu accessory dwelling units in the last six months, and a third lands on July 1, 2026. For the better part of a decade, an ADU in...

How a 15-Year-Old at Surfrider Beach Made Malibu the Capital of Surf Culture

Kai Schulz
In the summer of 1956, a five-foot tenth grader named Kathy Kohner started showing up at the First Point of Surfrider Beach with a homemade peanut-butter-and-radish sandwich and a borrowed surfboard. She didn't know it yet, but she was about to give Malibu the most enduring piece of cultural mythology it...

Paradise Coves Forgotten Whaling Fleet

Bodhi Schulz
On a January morning in 1935, if you stood on the bluff above Paradise Cove and looked out, you would have seen a 900-ton steam schooner anchored roughly a mile offshore, flanked by two smaller vessels called the Hawk and the Port Saunders. Their decks were slick with whale blood and...

Point Dume Malibu: A Complete Street by Street Buyer's Guide

Bodhi Schulz
When someone tells us they want to buy on Point Dume, we always ask the same question: which Point Dume? That may feel like a strange question, most people think Point Dume is one area, but it's not. It's closer to seven distinct areas, stacked on top of each other...

What It Actually Costs to Build or Rebuild in Malibu: A Complete Breakdown

Bodhi Schulz
The number on your insurance settlement is not what it costs to rebuild in Malibu. After the Palisades Fire, we've fielded hundreds of calls from homeowners trying to reconcile what their carrier approved with what their architect quoted. The gap is real, and the confusion is understandable. Most online cost...

Malibu Home Insurance Complete Guide

Bodhi Schulz
If you own a home in Malibu right now, there’s a decent chance your insurance situation keeps you up at night. You’re not alone. The California home insurance market has gone through the most dramatic upheaval in its history over the past three years, and Malibu...

Get Acquainted with Shen

Kai Schulz
At Shen Realty, we turn our local relationships and global precision into a true advantage for our clients, guiding you through every complexity with the integrity and expertise you deserve.

Neighborhood Comparison: Malibu West V.S. Trancas Canyon Road V.S. Broad Beach

Bodhi Schulz
The coastal residential landscape of Western Malibu is an interesting intersection of high-value real estate, complex environmental regulation, and distinct micro neighborhoods with different social dynamics and unique architecture. While the neighborhoods of Malibu West, Trancas Canyon Road, and Broad Beach Road are all geographically connected, they offer fundamentally different...

Malibu’s First Laser: How a Cold War Weapons Lab Became the City’s Largest Employer

Kai Schulz
If you’ve driven Malibu Canyon Road, you’ve passed it. Two massive white buildings perched in the hills above the coast. Just a quiet entrance off the road and a security gate. Most people assume it’s a private school or some kind of medical campus...

Every Malibu Home Sale Over $100 Million: The Complete History of Malibu's Record-Breaking Deals

Kai Schulz
Only a handful of residential sales in American history have crossed the nine-figure threshold. Malibu claims more of them than any other market in the country. From Carbon Beach to Paradise Cove, these six transactions tell the story of how a 21-mile strip of Pacific coastline became the most expensive...

Seller Financing in Malibu Real Estate, A Useful Tool in High Interest Rate Cycles

Bodhi Schulz
The luxury real estate market of Malibu, California, famous for its prestige and high property values, is currently navigating a period of significant macroeconomic transition. As interest rates have climbed from historic lows to multi-decade highs, the traditional avenues of mortgage financing have become increasingly restrictive for potential buyers. In...

Malibu Banditos and the Lost Gold of the Santa Monica Mountains

Bodhi Schulz
The rugged, chaparral-covered ridges and hidden sea caves of the Santa Monica Mountains have long served as a fertile landscape for the legend of Tiburcio Vasquez, California’s most notorious "gentleman highwayman." Active for over twenty years between 1854 and 1874, Vasquez was more than a mere criminal to the Mexican-American...

Best Malibu Realtor Reveals Most Overlooked Neighborhoods

Bodhi Schulz
Corral Canyon (2028 Corral, property available here.) Corral Canyon stands out as one of Malibu’s easiest-to-reach canyon communities and is often highlighted by a seasoned Malibu real estate agent when discussing value-driven canyon living. Heading west into Malibu, and shortly after the iconic Malibu Seafood Restaurant, you’ll...