Santa Monica still pricey

Throughout this real estate decline, readers of this blog (or those that check the archive) have noticed something consistent from me about homes in the most desirable locations of Santa Monica.

I've said over and over again that while prices would fall dramatically in many areas of Los Angeles (and they have), one of the areas that would see the least decline in housing prices would be Santa Monica.

There are many reasons for this that seem completely obvious to me, but here is a new study that confirms what I've been saying: Santa Monica is the 5th Most Expensive Residential Real Estate Market in the Country

Bubble watchers may rightly point out that this means Santa Monica has farther to fall. This may be true -- but I believe only to a small degree.

Many market watchers believe that while the lower priced areas of Los Angeles are setting sales records, the higher priced areas of L.A. may still fall some. Even if this is the case, look for Santa Monica housing prices to hold up better, and fall less, than almost anywhere else.