You can trade 1 home in California for 13 in Iowa

The L.A. Daily News reports:

Home prices might be plunging across California, but the Golden State still dominates the nation's 10 most expensive housing markets.

California accounts for eight of America's 10 priciest places to buy a house, according to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index released Tuesday.

Topping the list is the tony seaside enclave of La Jolla, where the average sale price for a 2,200-square-foot house so far this year is $1.8 million. That's 13 times more expensive than the $133,459 average price for a same-size home in Sioux City, Iowa, the most affordable market.

Coldwell Banker has been putting out this list for 21 years, and California has always been at the high end, said Jim Gillispie, the company's president and chief executive officer. That's true even now, as the state experiences some of the biggest price drops in the country.

"They came up so much in California (before the declines), it still puts you at a higher price point than the rest of the country," Gillispie said.

California can't compete,in the long run,with much cheaper places to operate.