I'd say a murder and two attempted kidnappings is relevant to ppty values. I'm looking in MB and Malibu, and with a young daughter, this is distressing stuff.

Sorry, the above was in reply to hanq. But yes, 'El Porto' was renamed 'North Manhattan Beach.' Look at the signs along Highland. I will still use 'El Porto' -- more character

Since we are at 1996 prices in stocks, you cannot 'blame bush' exclusively either. If you must, blame them all, starting with Reagan.

On the homes, I'm surprised to see a strand townhome at that price, and I am VERY bearish. So, why buy now?

Part of the problem or part of the solution? The problem is that the country has been chasing easy wealth for over a decade, be it dot.com stocks or real estate. California is ground zero for this entitled attitude. Now that the ponzi schemes have run their course, it's time to get back to fundamentals, which have been neglected for many years. Very few posters 'bash' MB. I would like to buy in MB, but I'm not going to overpay. I come to this site for RE information, and for amusement. A couple of years ago, I visited these kind of sites for therapy -- yes, Huggy - for relief from the housing kool-aid spouted at every cocktail party and restaurant table - to hear reasonable people discuss the UNAVOIDABLE correction that was coming. Now I can just look at the price reductions for therapy. Thanks to common sense, I got out of stocks in 07 and I'm sitting on a nice cash downpayment. I could buy a decent home in MB now, but not one I'd be happy in for years. I'm not going to subsidize someone's golden years by being underwater for a decade. There's plenty of downside, IMO. And if I'm wrong, my money goes elsewhere and life goes on.

Planning and buying in 2009 and wondering what the locals have to say about public schools in different areas of MB, vs Hermosa. Best elementary vs high schools?