Best Real Estate Agent in Carmel Highlands: How to Choose
The Carmel Highlands is, in my opinion, the most dynamic area on the Monterey Peninsula: open ocean instead of the shelter of Carmel Bay, homes on granite, and settings that run from the rocks at the water’s edge to the top of Corona Road. It is also coastal-zone Monterey County, with one highway in and out and plenty of wells and septic systems. Here is what the right agent should know, and an honest look at my own record.
The short version: The best real estate agent for the Carmel Highlands is one who knows how coastal development permits under the county’s Carmel Area Land Use Plan affect the exact parcel, checks water source, septic, fire safety and the road in before you commit, understands the county’s coastal rental rules, and is honest about their own record here. Check any agent’s license on the California DRE site and ask for their own closed sales, by area and side. I’m an agent here, so read this as a guide from someone in the business. I have worked on many significant sales in the Highlands, and my credentials are below.
Licensed since
Salesperson license June 30, 2015. Broker license January 2023.
RealTrends (2021)
My own ranking among agents nationwide.
Rental lens
Peninsula Luxe manages vacation, monthly and long-term rentals.
Broker Associate
Carmel-by-the-Sea office. My own practice, not a team.
On the water, in the trees, or way up high
The Highlands has no formal neighborhoods, but the setting changes everything: the weather, the road, the water, and which sales are truly comparable.
Oceanfront
Right on the open ocean, not the protected water of Carmel Bay. Watching the swells is part of the magic, and so are the salt air and wind. Winter storms hit hardest here, with no bay to break them.
Upper and Lower Walden
Tucked into the mountainside among the trees, just off Highway 1. Close to the coast and the highway, with more shade and a woodsy, private feel.
The top of Corona Road
More than 1,000 feet up, with sweeping views of the ocean and the mountains. It’s a drive up, and the views are the reward.
Carmel Riviera and Yankee Point
The most walkable neighborhood in the Highlands, with two beaches. To the north, between Yankee Point and Spindrift Road, there’s a private residents’ beach reached with a key. At the south end there’s a small public beach with a hike down.
Many homes here sit on granite, which in my experience is about as solid as ground gets here for earthquakes. A geology or soils report for the specific lot is still worth it. Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is right next door. Point Lobos More on the area: Carmel Highlands homes and settings.
What a Carmel Highlands agent should know cold
The Highlands isn’t a city. It’s unincorporated Monterey County, entirely in the coastal zone, under the county’s Carmel Area Land Use Plan. These are the questions that come up in escrow here.
Coastal development permits
Most development in the county’s coastal zone needs a coastal development permit, with a public hearing, unless an exemption applies, and some decisions can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission. If you’re buying to remodel, add on or rebuild, talk to a local architect or land-use consultant before you remove contingencies. More: coastal development permits in Monterey County. County Title 20, Chapter 20.70 Coastal Commission
The Carmel Area Land Use Plan
The plan treats the Carmel River as the line between the more urban Peninsula to the north and rural, lower-intensity uses to the south, and designates the Highlands neighborhoods Low Density Residential. On the large upland parcels it designates Watershed and Scenic Conservation, where new land divisions are limited by elevation: one unit per 40 acres below 1,000 feet and one per 80 acres above. Carmel Area LUP (county library) Coastal Commission LCP review 2012 Highlands staff report
Highway 1 is the way in and out
Highway 1 is the main road to and from the Highlands. Big storms and slides can close parts of it, more often farther south along the Big Sur coast, so know your backup plan and check conditions before a closing or a move. Caltrans Highway 1 conditions Caltrans District 5 news
Cal Am, a well, or a shared system
Many homes are on Cal Am water, but some rely on a private well or a small shared system, especially on the mountain side of Highway 1. Read the well agreement and maintenance history, and test flow and quality. Every sale in the water district triggers its Rule 141 retrofits, and private wells have added well monitoring rules. MPWMD buying and selling More: Monterey Peninsula water credits.
Septic is common
Much of the Highlands isn’t on a sewer, so many homes have septic systems, and on steep or rocky lots a repair or replacement can be a real project. New, replacement and expanded systems need a county Environmental Health permit. We get a septic inspection in escrow and ask the county for its records. County septic (OWTS) permits
Fire protection and insurance
The Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District provides fire protection through a contract with CAL FIRE and points sellers to CAL FIRE’s online real estate inspection request. If a home is in a high or very high fire hazard zone, California law requires the seller to give the buyer documentation of defensible space compliance. The district also runs a free residential chipper program. Get insurance quotes during your inspection period. More: home insurance in Carmel and Pebble Beach. Carmel Highlands Fire Civil Code 1102.19
Rentals under the coastal rules
The county counts a stay of 30 days or less as a vacation rental. Its coastal vacation rental ordinance bars commercial vacation rentals in the Low Density Residential (LDR) coastal zoning districts of the Carmel Area plan and caps them elsewhere in that plan area. The county says unpermitted coastal rentals may continue temporarily until the Coastal Commission considers certifying the ordinance, so this is still moving. Rentals over 30 days aren’t regulated by the county’s planning department. More: Monterey County short-term rental rules. County vacation rentals Ordinance 5439
Weather on the open ocean
Winter storms can hit hardest in the Highlands. With no bay to break them, it can be a little rainier and windier in winter storms, and a little more brisk overall. See a home on a windy day if you can, and look at how it’s sited and built: windows, roof and drainage.
Pricing with few sales
Homes in the Highlands don’t come up often, and an oceanfront home, a Walden home in the trees and a ridge-top home on Corona Road don’t price alike. Ask how the agent will build an honest range. My Carmel Highlands sales stats are a starting point.
Schools: the Highlands is generally served by Carmel Unified. Confirm assignments by address with the district. CUSD enrollment and residency
My record in the Carmel Highlands
I have worked on many significant sales in the Carmel Highlands. Here are the credentials you can check, and my agent pages for other areas on the Peninsula.
California DRE broker license 01980970
The DRE public record shows my salesperson license issued June 30, 2015, and my broker license issued January 21, 2023. I’m a Broker Associate with Compass, in the Carmel-by-the-Sea office, and the record shows no disciplinary action.
RealTrends top 1% (2021)
Ranked in the top 1% of agents nationwide by RealTrends in 2021. That ranking was mine, not a team’s.
My other agent pages
My closed sales in other Peninsula areas, each listed by the side I represented, are on the agent pages for those areas. My first sale, 79 Paso Hondo, was in Carmel Valley.
Before 2022 I spent years on a large Peninsula team and was involved in nearly 1,000 transactions there. Those were team transactions, so none of them are counted or listed here as my own sales. Separately, local knowledge of the Highlands settings, the rules and the rental side is something you can test in a first conversation.
How I work with Carmel Highlands buyers and sellers
Here is how I work, on this stretch of coast and everywhere else.
Close by
My Compass office is on 6th Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a short drive north of the Highlands.
Early access
Homes in the Highlands don’t come up often, so an early look matters. As a Compass agent I see Compass Private Exclusives and Coming Soon listings, and coming-soon listings from Coldwell Banker, Sotheby’s International Realty, and Corcoran, now part of the same family.
A rental lens
I co-own and operate Peninsula Luxe, which manages luxury vacation, monthly (30+ day), and long-term rentals on the Monterey Peninsula. With the coastal rental rules still settling, that means a realistic read on monthly and long-term income.
A checklist for this coast
Setting, road and backup route, water source, septic, fire safety and insurance, beach access, and coastal permits, checked for the specific parcel before you’re committed.
Data you can check
I publish market stats for the Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, the Carmel area, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Pebble Beach.
You work with me
My own practice, not a team. The person you hire is the person who shows up.
Questions to ask any Carmel Highlands agent
Ask every agent you interview the same things, me included.
1. Your own sales here?
Which homes have you closed in the Highlands, in which setting, at what price, and which side did you represent? Were they your own sales or a team’s?
2. What will the coastal permit take?
For this parcel, what would a remodel, addition or rebuild need under the Carmel Area plan, and could it be appealed to the Coastal Commission?
3. Water and septic
Is the home on Cal Am, a well, or a shared system, and what records exist for the well agreement and the septic?
4. Fire and insurance
Is the home in a high or very high fire hazard zone, and what does the defensible space paperwork show?
5. Beach and road
Does the home come with residents’ beach key access, and what is the road in like in a winter storm?
6. Who does the work?
Will I work with you, or with someone else on your team?
Verify any agent’s license on the California DRE public license lookup.
How to verify any agent’s claims
Rankings and reviews are easy to quote and hard to check. These are not.
DRE lookup
The California Department of Real Estate public license lookup shows license type, issue dates, the broker the agent works under, and any public disciplinary action.
Closed sales
Ask for addresses in the Carmel Highlands. Public records and the agent’s own sale pages should match the price and the side they claim.
Reviews
Read reviews from clients who bought or sold a similar home, and ask for a reference or two. Mine: client testimonials and Google reviews.
Team or individual
Team volume can be large. Ask which sales the agent personally handled, and who will actually show up for you.
Thinking about the Carmel Highlands? Let’s talk it through.
Tell me what you’re picturing: on the water, in the trees, or up high. I’ll tell you honestly what it takes, what to check on water, septic, fire and the road, and what a fair price looks like. No pitch.
Carmel Highlands homesCarmel Highlands sales statsWhat’s my home worth?
Talk to the agent, not a team
Call or text 831-747-0310, or book a 30-minute call.
Before you rely on this
- License details come from the California DRE public lookup on Nov 9, 2026. Check the live record yourself.
- Rules summarized here come from Monterey County, the California Coastal Commission, MPWMD, the Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District, and California law as of Nov 9, 2026. The county’s coastal vacation rental rules are still awaiting Coastal Commission action, so confirm current rules for any specific parcel.
- Team-era transactions are not listed as individual closed sales on this page.
Choosing a Carmel Highlands agent: quick questions
How do I choose a Carmel Highlands real estate agent?
Look for an agent who knows how coastal development permits under the Carmel Area Land Use Plan affect the parcel, checks water source, septic, fire safety and the Highway 1 commute up front, understands the county’s coastal rental rules, and can show their own closed sales by area and side. Check the license on the California DRE site.
Who is the best real estate agent in Carmel Highlands?
The best agent for you knows the setting you want, oceanfront, in the trees, or up on the ridge, and is honest about their record here. I’m an agent on the Peninsula and I have worked on many significant sales in the Carmel Highlands. My license, RealTrends ranking, and agent pages for other areas are below.
Do I need a coastal development permit to remodel in Carmel Highlands?
Often, yes. The Carmel Highlands is in the coastal zone, and most development there needs a coastal development permit from Monterey County unless an exemption applies. Some decisions can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission, so plan for time.
Can I rent out a Carmel Highlands home short term?
Stays of 30 days or less are vacation rentals under county rules. The county’s coastal ordinance bars commercial vacation rentals in Low Density Residential coastal zoning in the Carmel Area plan and caps them elsewhere there, and it is still awaiting Coastal Commission action. Rentals over 30 days are not regulated by the county planning department.
Where does water come from for Carmel Highlands homes?
Many homes are on Cal Am water, but some, especially on the mountain side of Highway 1, rely on a private well or a small shared system. Every sale in the water district triggers MPWMD’s Rule 141 retrofits, and private wells have additional monitoring rules.
How do I check a real estate agent’s license in California?
Use the California Department of Real Estate public license lookup. It shows license type, issue dates, the broker the agent works under, and any public disciplinary action.
Updated November 2026 · Facts checked Nov 9, 2026 against the California DRE, Monterey County, the California Coastal Commission, MPWMD, and the Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District
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