A sizzling summer in Malibu: Rentals hit $150,000 a month

That's a jaw dropper, even for Malibu. The Cliffside Drive property's rental price is a local record, according to the Multiple Listing Service, but it's just the 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.

A big chunk of the summer crowd is from the entertainment industry, and hobnobbing never comes cheap. Plenty of deals are made at the beach -- and if you aren't there, someone else will be. And of course, there's also the opportunity to bump into Pamela Anderson buying organic carrot juice at Ralphs or to sip a latte next to Pierce Brosnan at Starbucks.

Finally, corporate money is pumping up Malibu prices as large publicity firms and companies with products to sell use summer rentals to host celebrity-studded bashes -- chock-full of product placements that wind up in photos in magazines and online. The "party houses" may find themselves on a tighter leash this summer, though, as the Malibu City Council takes steps to curtail noise and traffic complaints.

Still, the prices are head-spinners.

Chris Cortazzo, listing agent for Malibu's new top seed -- all 11,000-plus square feet of it -- touts the property's completely private location (that's Realtorspeak for paparazzi-proof). The Mediterranean-style home has direct beach access via steps down a cliff and interior furnishings described alternately as "tons of marble and fancy chandeliers" or "on the gaudy side." That last description from a competing listing agent. Leasing requires a two-month minimum and a hefty $300,000 security deposit.

Not far behind in price is a $135,000-a-month architectural four-bedroom house plus a detached studio with a pool and spa on Malibu Colony beach, listed by Coldwell Banker Previews agent Susan Monus. Gorgeous as it may be, tire-kickers might not like that the property is on a through street. Still, there are few better addresses than this -- you've got Adam Sandler and Jeremy Piven up the street, Brian Grazer and Mel Brooks around the corner. And it's quite close to where Paris Hilton rented last summer.