Dillon Beach, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
Dillon Beach is a small unincorporated coastal community in the northwest corner of Marin County, California, made up of four parts: the historic Village, the Oceana Marin subdivision, the Dillon Beach Resort and the Lawson’s Landing campground. ATTOM counts 379 residential properties and puts the estimated median home value for ZIP 94929 at $1,334,500 (accessed October 2026). Marin County, not a city, sets the rules, and the community lies in the state’s coastal zone.
- County
- Marin County
- Government
- Unincorporated (county rules, coastal zone)
- ZIP code
- 94929
- Water
- Cal Water (Coast Springs system)
- Vacation rental cap
- 204 licenses (county procedures, October 2026)
Dillon Beach homes for sale
Current MLS listings in Dillon Beach and ZIP 94929 appear below. Few homes change hands in a year, so run the property search across Dillon Beach, Tomales and the Tomales Bay shore together.
What do homes in Dillon Beach sell for?
$1,334,500
ATTOM home-value estimate, accessed October 2026
14
ATTOM, accessed October 2026
$1,678,750
September 2026, C.A.R.
Dillon Beach has no dependable median sale price. Redfin’s ZIP 94929 page, read in October 2026, showed a $1.8 million median for the three months ending June 2026 on just two sales, and ATTOM’s figure is an estimated median home value, not a closed sale price. ATTOM’s count of 14 sales covers a window it doesn’t date (its charts end in March 2024). At that pace, one larger house or one Village cottage can move any average.
| Measure | Figure | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Residential properties | 379, on 18 streets | ATTOM, accessed October 2026 |
| Residential sales | 14 in the past year | ATTOM, accessed October 2026 |
| Estimated median value; per square foot | $1,334,500; $769.84 | ATTOM estimate for ZIP 94929 |
| Redfin median, ZIP 94929 | $1.8 million on 2 sales (not meaningful) | Three months ending June 2026, Redfin |
| Marin County median, for comparison | $1,678,750 (up 1.7% year over year) | September 2026, C.A.R. |
We price Dillon Beach homes by part of town first, since a 1930s cottage on a tiny Village lot and an Oceana Marin house on the public sewer are different products, then adjust for view, water and septic.
What are the four parts of Dillon Beach?
Marin County’s environmental health staff divide the community into Oceana Marin, the Village, the Dillon Beach Resort and Lawson’s Landing (County of Marin), each with its own housing, utilities and permit history.
The Village
The county describes the Village as the older, tightly clustered part of the community: 160 lots, 149 of them developed, typically about 1,725 square feet each. Building started in the 1910s and most houses went up in the 1930s and 1940s. Most of it is zoned C-R1-BD, the county’s coastal single-family district, and over recent decades its use has shifted from mostly seasonal to year-round. On lots that small, setbacks, parking and septic capacity decide how much a house can grow.
Oceana Marin
Oceana Marin is the subdivision with a public sewer. The North Marin Water District runs the Oceana Marin sewer system, which covers about one square mile, with 235 connections serving roughly 500 people (North Marin Water District, September 2026). Cal Water supplies 82 Oceana Marin properties, so confirm the water source for any lot here, especially a vacant one.
The resort and Lawson’s Landing
These two are visitor-serving land rather than sources of homes for sale. The resort, at 1 Beach Avenue, runs a fee beach parking lot, a general store and surf shop, and rental cottages (Dillon Beach Resort); Lawson’s Landing’s permit is covered below.
Water, sewer and septic in Dillon Beach
Drinking water comes from the Coast Springs system, owned by California Water Service (Cal Water), an investor-owned utility regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. The Village makes up about 60% of the system, which also serves the 82 Oceana Marin properties and 13 homes south of the Village. Water comes from the Lower Well and the Hilltop Wells, with seasonal purchases from a nearby private well, and is stored in a 120,000-gallon and a 200,000-gallon tank (County of Marin, December 2024).
Septic systems serve the Village’s very small lots, and the county’s background page for its Dillon Beach Village wastewater feasibility study lists possible contamination from those systems among the risks to the water supply. On a Village purchase, get the county septic file and an inspection before you remove contingencies.
- Septic rules: Marin County Environmental Health Services permits and classifies systems. It recommends, but doesn’t require, a septic inspection at sale, and it’s rewriting its septic rules, with adoption targeted for the end of 2026 (County of Marin).
- Alternative systems: anything other than a conventional system needs an annual county operating permit and professional monitoring, an ongoing cost.
Can you run a vacation rental in Dillon Beach?
Possibly, but not on the seller’s license. Marin licenses short-term rentals (stays under 30 days) in unincorporated areas under County Code Chapter 5.41. Dillon Beach has its own cap, which rose from 125 licenses in the county’s 2025 table to 204 in the October 2026 procedures, and it sits outside the 1,200-license countywide limit; it’s the only township whose cap has gone up (Marin County CDA).
- The license ends at sale. The ordinance ends it automatically on any change of ownership, except one transfer from a person to a spouse or children (ordinance text). A buyer applies fresh and joins the waitlist.
- Paperwork and fees: a county STR license ($600 new, two-year term), a business license and a transient occupancy tax certificate; the waitlist costs $50 a year.
- Septic proof: applicants submit a septic inspection form completed within the past year by an approved inspector.
- ADUs: accessory dwelling units created or legalized since January 1, 2020 under the state exemption, and other ADUs since February 24, 2021, can’t be rented short term.
- Tax: transient occupancy tax is 10% in most of unincorporated Marin and 14% in the county’s West Marin tax zone since 2019; the county’s Measure W parcel listing shows whether a parcel is in that zone (County of Marin Finance).
If rental income is part of the plan, our investor guide explains how we run the numbers when a license may take a while.
Coastal permits, tsunami maps and other hazards
Marin’s Local Coastal Program, in effect since July 13, 2021, applies to building work here through Coastal Development Permit review. One gap: the county withdrew the update’s Environmental Hazards chapter before the Coastal Commission acted, so it wasn’t certified (California Coastal Commission).
- Tsunami: Marin County’s Office of Emergency Management publishes a map of the areas of the county that could be affected by a tsunami, last updated January 14, 2026 (County of Marin OES), and the California Geological Survey hosts the state’s hazard-area viewer. Check the parcel itself on both.
- Wildfire: look up the parcel’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone; the state’s updated State Responsibility Area maps took effect April 1, 2024. In a High or Very High zone, the AB 38 rule requires a defensible-space inspection report from the past six months, or a written agreement that the buyer gets one within a year of closing.
- Fire service: Marin County Fire’s Tomales station covers Dillon Beach, Tomales, Marshall and Chileno Valley (Marin County Public Works), and the county notes the fire department is working with Cal Water to upgrade older wharf hydrants.
- Insurance: get quotes as soon as you’re in contract.
Lawson’s Landing and its coastal permit
Lawson’s Landing is the large campground at 137 Marine View Drive, on a property of about 960 acres; Lawson’s Landing, Inc. was the permit applicant. The California Coastal Commission found that development there had grown without permits since the 1960s, to as many as 1,000 camping vehicles at peak times and 233 permanent travel trailers. After a consent cease-and-desist order in 2006, the Commission approved a coastal permit with conditions on July 13, 2011, in appeal A-2-MAR-08-028 (California Coastal Commission).
The permit confines camping to defined areas with wetland buffers, required the travel trailers in two areas to be removed by July 13, 2016, put about 465 acres under a conservation easement and called for a new wastewater system to replace the site’s individual septic systems. For nearby homeowners, the campground’s footprint is set out in a public permit.
Getting around, schools and services
Dillon Beach is a driving community. The only scheduled public service is the Marin Access Dillon Beach / Tomales Shuttle, which gives curb-to-curb rides between Dillon Beach, Tomales and Petaluma on Wednesdays only, by advance reservation; the West Marin Stagecoach routes don’t list Dillon Beach (Marin Transit, October 2026).
Public schools are part of the Shoreline Unified School District, based in Tomales, which runs Tomales Elementary, Tomales High School and Bodega Bay School. Ask the district which campus serves the address you’re considering.
Dillon Beach compared with nearby areas
| Area | Government | One verified difference |
|---|---|---|
| Dillon Beach | Unincorporated Marin, coastal zone | Vacation-rental cap of 125 rising to 204, outside the countywide limit |
| Tomales | Unincorporated Marin, coastal zone | Village sewer run by the Tomales Village Community Services District; rental cap of 12, falling to 11 |
| Marshall | Unincorporated Marin, coastal zone | On Tomales Bay; rental cap of 28, falling to 27 |
| Inverness | Unincorporated Marin, coastal zone | Water and fire protection from the Inverness Public Utility District; rental cap of 93, falling to 86 |
| Bodega Bay | Unincorporated Sonoma County | Water and sewer from the Bodega Bay Public Utility District; Redfin median $1,749,167 (September 2026) |
How Diamond Real Estate Group helps Dillon Beach buyers
On a Dillon Beach purchase, the important checks come before the offer. We establish which part of the community the home is in, confirm sewer or septic, pull the county septic file and check the parcel against the tsunami and fire maps. If rental income matters, we ask the county where the waitlist stands before you price it in.
- Marin County real estate agents: our disclosed list, with every DRE license number linked.
- How we work with buyers, and our Marin County real estate guide for the county-wide rules.
- Selling a Dillon Beach home instead? Start with a home valuation.
Selling a home in Dillon Beach
For a Dillon Beach listing, establish first which of the community’s four parts the home sits in: the Village, Oceana Marin, the Dillon Beach Resort or Lawson’s Landing. The answer decides the wastewater paperwork. Marin County, not a city, holds the permit and septic records for all four.
| Part of town | Wastewater | What to give buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Oceana Marin | Public sewer run by the North Marin Water District: 235 connections across about one square mile | A recent sewer bill and the account details for the transfer |
| The Village | Onsite systems; the county has studied alternatives | The septic permit and class from the county archive, plus an evaluation on the county’s residential inspection form |
The Village also carries a long-range question. A feasibility report delivered in October 2022 weighed options for its wastewater, from upgrading existing systems or forming a management group to small shared systems, a connection to a nearby sewer or a new community system. The county page, last updated December 2024, records no decision. Buyers will find the study, so mention it yourself.
Hazards the state form misses
California’s Natural Hazard Disclosure statement covers FEMA flood zones, fire hazard zones, earthquake faults and seismic hazard zones, but not tsunami or sea-level rise. Dillon Beach is one of the communities in Marin’s 2018 C-SMART ocean coast report. Share any shoreline, drainage or erosion reports you have alongside the state form.
Rentals, fire and tax
- Dillon Beach sits outside the county’s 1,200-license cap with its own limit, 204 licenses in the October 2026 procedures. A license still expires automatically on a change of ownership, so a buyer applies fresh. If you’ve been remitting lodging tax, give the Tax Collector 30 days’ written notice before the sale.
- Look the parcel up in Marin County Fire’s tool. A sale in a High or Very High zone needs AB 38 documentation, or a written agreement that the buyer completes it within a year after closing.
- Transfer tax is the county’s $1.10 per $1,000, with no city layer. The seller customarily pays in Diamond’s North Bay markets, though buyer and seller can agree otherwise; see the transfer tax guide.
Our Marin County seller requirements page covers the rest of the county, and our seller services page explains how we prepare a coastal listing.
Sources for this section: Marin County Environmental Health Services: Dillon Beach Village community wastewater study; North Marin Water District: Oceana Marin sewer; Marin County Environmental Health Services: Septic systems; California Public Law: Civil Code section 1103.2 (Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement); Adaptation Clearinghouse: Marin County Ocean Coast Sea-Level Rise Adaptation Report (C-SMART, 2018); Marin County CDA: Short-term rentals (STR); Marin County CDA: Short-term rental administrative procedures (October 2026); California Coastal Commission: Marin County short-term rental LCP amendment exhibits, ordinance text (April 2024); Marin County Department of Finance: Transient occupancy tax, sell, transfer or terminate operations; Marin County Fire: What is an AB-38 inspection?; Marin County Assessor-Recorder: Fees (documentary transfer tax).
Dillon Beach real estate FAQs
What county is Dillon Beach, CA in?
Marin County. Dillon Beach is unincorporated, so the county’s Community Development Agency handles planning, building and septic permits. Its ZIP code is 94929.
Where is Dillon Beach?
On the coast in the northwest corner of Marin County, in the same fire-service area as Tomales, Marshall and Chileno Valley. A county shuttle links it with Tomales and Petaluma.
Can I turn a Dillon Beach home into a vacation rental?
Only with a county short-term rental license, and Dillon Beach licenses are capped at 204 in the county’s October 2026 procedures. New applicants join a first-come waitlist and also need a business license and a tax certificate. The county’s short-term rental page has the current process.
Does the seller’s rental license transfer to me?
No. A Marin license ends automatically when the property changes hands, apart from a narrow exception for transfers to a spouse or children. Treat a seller’s rental history as evidence of demand, not income you’ll inherit.
Who supplies water in Dillon Beach?
Cal Water’s Coast Springs system, a state-regulated private utility drawing on local wells. It serves the Village, 82 Oceana Marin properties and 13 homes south of the Village; confirm the source for any other parcel.
Do Dillon Beach homes have sewer service?
It depends on the part of town. Oceana Marin has a public sewer run by the North Marin Water District, while the county describes septic systems serving the Village and is studying wastewater options there; confirm the system for any specific home. Lawson’s Landing’s 2011 permit called for its own new wastewater system.
Is Dillon Beach in a tsunami hazard area?
Check the specific parcel, not the community. Use the county’s tsunami hazards map (updated January 2026) and the state viewer, and compare both with the Natural Hazard Disclosure report.
What is Lawson’s Landing?
The campground on a property of about 960 acres at Dillon Beach. Its 2011 Coastal Commission permit, issued after decades of unpermitted growth, confines camping to set areas and protects about 465 acres under a conservation easement.
Which school district serves Dillon Beach?
The Shoreline Unified School District, based in Tomales, which runs Tomales Elementary, Tomales High School and Bodega Bay School. Ask the district which schools serve a given address.
Can I enlarge a small Village cottage?
Sometimes, within tight limits. Village lots are typically about 1,725 square feet, many projects need Coastal Development Permit review, and an added bedroom raises septic questions. Talk to county planning and environmental health before you count on more space.
How much is the transfer tax on a Dillon Beach purchase?
The county’s documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of value, and no city tax is added because Dillon Beach has no city government. On a $1,334,500 purchase, that comes to about $1,468.
Sources & notes
- County of Marin EHS: Dillon Beach feasibility study background (December 2024)
- North Marin Water District: Oceana Marin sewer (September 2026)
- California Coastal Commission: Lawson’s Landing revised findings (December 2011)
- Marin County CDA: short-term rental procedures (February 2025)
- County of Marin: West Marin occupancy tax increase (page updated August 2024)
- County of Marin: septic systems and septic rules update (October 2026)
- County of Marin OES: tsunami hazards map (January 2026)
- Marin County: Tomales fire station renovation complete
- Marin Transit: West Marin (read October 2026)
- Dillon Beach Resort: beach and store
- Market data: ATTOM, Redfin, C.A.R.
Figures carry their dates where they appear. This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice; confirm the rules for a specific property with the agency named. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
Plan your next move
Share your preferred location, budget, property requirements and timing. We can help organize a focused search, arrange showings or discuss preparing a property for sale.
Local resource: Marin County planning and township resources. Check official information for the address you are considering; area descriptions do not establish a property’s permitted uses.
