A sizzling summer in Malibu: a rental for $150,000 a month

The L.A. Times reports:

That's a jaw dropper, even for Malibu. The Cliffside Drive property's rental price is a local record high, according to the Multiple Listing Service, but it's just the latest pinnacle in a summer rental market that seems to have no high-water mark. Even mundane beachfront houses are renting for as much as $70,000 a month, and they're still expected to be snapped up by mid-April.

It all seems impossible, when real estate is wilting just about everywhere else. But Malibu in the summer isn't like everywhere else.

The housing market's troubles haven't touched homes valued at $10 million or above -- which pretty much defines the Malibu beachfront, according to John Karevoll of DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate research firm. And rents reflect that.

You could stay in a hotel for a lot cheaper.