DWTS Stars Peta and Maks Leaving Los Angeles After Son’s Bike Was Stolen During Family Move
Peta Murgatroyd and Maks Chmerkovskiy are officially turning the page on their Los Angeles chapter. Their Valley Village home is now on the rental market for $18,000 a month, and the timing says everything.
This isn’t just a real estate story. It’s a financial decision, a lifestyle call, and something thousands of families across California are quietly doing right now.
DWTS Stars Are Done With LA and Their $18K/Month Home Proves It
According to property records obtained by TMZ, the couple listed their 4-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom, roughly 4,300 sq ft home in Valley Village about 20 days ago, right as they were settling into their new life in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Napa-inspired home has herringbone oak floors, oak ceilings, solid alder wood doors, Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, custom cherry wood cabinetry, and a hidden secret pantry. Brett Karns of The Agency, who also built the home, holds the listing.
For $18K a month, you’re not just renting a house. You’re renting a whole lifestyle.
They Didn’t Sell. Here’s Why That’s the Smart Move.
This is the part most coverage skipped over.
Valley Village home prices dropped nearly 10% year-over-year as of May 2026, per Redfin data. Selling right now would mean leaving real money on the table.
Renting at $18K/month instead? That’s $216,000 in annual passive income while they wait for the market to recover.
One fan on X put it plainly: “Renting the LA spot is the perfect hedge.”
That’s exactly what this is. Not sentiment, strategy. High-net-worth families don’t sell into a soft market. They hold and earn.
The Emotional Exit: 16 Years, One Moving Truck
The couple documented the whole move in a YouTube vlog, and it hit differently than most celebrity content does.
Peta, 39, and Maks, 46, were filmed wiping away tears as they drove off with moving boxes filling their car, leaving behind a home they’d lived in for over a decade. On Instagram, Peta admitted that leaving Los Angeles wasn’t easy.
She wrote: “There are tears you don’t expect, goodbyes that hit harder than you imagined, and moments where you wonder if you’re making the right decision.”
The move wasn’t seamless either. During the family’s final days in LA, their son Shai’s bike was stolen.
Peta suspected it may have been taken by a young homeless woman the couple had helped the night before, giving her food and blankets before they left.
That one detail said more about LA’s reality than any number could. It’s also a reminder of how exposed a home becomes during a transition, and what can happen to a property the moment a family steps away, even briefly.
Sharna Burgess commented, “Love you miss you and I love this for you and the fam.” Judge Carrie Ann Inaba wrote, “Bravo for bravery.” The support from the DWTS community was immediate.
Why This Matters: They’re Part of a Much Bigger California Exit
Peta and Maks aren’t outliers. They’re part of a well-documented pattern.
According to the U-Haul Growth Index, California has ranked dead last, 50th out of 50 states, for six consecutive years in net migration. In 2025 alone, the state recorded a net domestic loss of approximately 216,000 residents.
Florida, meanwhile, climbed to the No. 2 growth state in the country.
Taxes, cost of living, safety, and the pull of more space are driving this, especially for families. Leaving behind a place you’ve called home for years carries real emotional weight.
Some families don’t get to choose when they lose that home, and that makes a deliberate, planned move like this one feel even more significant.
Peta and Maks have three sons: Shai, Rio, and Milan. Florida’s no state income tax and Boca Raton’s family-first pace were clearly part of the decision.
Since arriving, Peta has shared updates saying the slower pace, warm weather, and watching their boys thrive have made the move completely worth it.
There’s a WhatsApp channel that tracks stories like this as they happen, celebrity homes, real estate shifts, and everything in between. Worth having in your feed if this is your kind of topic.
What This Move Actually Tells Us
The $18K listing is a hedge, not a goodbye. Peta and Maks are holding a depreciating-market asset while earning from it and keeping their options open.
California’s cost of living, safety concerns, and tax pressure have hit a point where even longtime, deeply rooted residents are leaving. And Florida, despite its own rising costs, still offers something California can’t right now: a slower, safer, more family-centered life.
When families start moving for peace of mind rather than just opportunity, it signals something bigger. Across the country, more homeowners are rethinking where they put down roots, and events they never anticipated are often what push them to finally decide.
Their boys are happy. Their hearts are full. And their Valley Village home is sitting at $18,000 a month.
Did Peta and Maks make the right call? Would you have done the same or held on to LA? Drop your take in the comments.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, based on publicly available property records and media reports.
