Muted Market in the LA Times

Interesting story on the current market woes in the Los Angeles Times. Check out the Muted Market.

I found the last couple of paragraphs very telling.

"And then there are the communities that rarely feel pain, such as Beverly Hills, Indian Wells, Pacific Palisades and Newport Beach, where prices have continued to climb.

But even homes in those tony areas must be in pristine shape, said Beverly Hills Coldwell Banker agent Ruben Perez.

"No one's buying fixers or homes that are overpriced," Perez said. "They have to be in top shape to get top dollar."

As an agent in the upscale neighborhood of Calabasas, this is really true. Buyers of higher priced homes want pristine condition homes with move in qualities. They figure if they're going to spend over a million, they don't want the headache of a fixer uppper, which wasn't the case pre-2005.

All in all, it is a good buyers market.