Posh and Becks suffer real estate inflation in LA

By Stone Martindale Mar 31, 2007, 0:49 GMT

03/29/2007 - Victoria Beckham - David Beckham 2007 new hairdos London, England © Solarpix / Photorazzi

Despite the cooling real estate market with multi-million dollar homes also caught up in the sub-prime mortgage nightmare gripping the US, Victoria and David Beckham are still looking for a home to buy in California – because the couple refuse to overpay for a house whose price has been upped due to interest from the famous twosome reports People magazine.

"It's pretty hard to keep identities secret when you are interested in multimillion-dollar mansions," an unnamed real estate savvy source tells People. "Once sellers find out who's interested in buying, the prices skyrocket. It's ridiculous."

Due to this boomerang effect, "Victoria and David have still not decided on a house for when they move to L.A. ... They refuse to pay above the odds just because they are famous."

The Beckhams planned on a California move after Beckham, 31, signed a huge five-year deal with the L.A. Galaxy team.

Posh has rented a luxury house on the west side, and has made several trips to view possible homes for themselves and private schools for sons Brooklyn, 8, Romeo, 4 and Cruz, 2.

Due to the private school selections, the source tells People: "They will definitely buy in or around Beverly Hills. It makes sense for them," says the source. "But they will not pay an excess purely because of who they are. They are careful with their money."

"They don't want to get stuck in bidding wars. One mansion recently went up by millions once the owner found out the Beckhams were interested," says the source. "The problem, is they need a big house."

People notes that the property they acquire will be recorded for TV cameras, since Victoria has signed to star in a six-part, NBC reality show that will coincide with the family's move to L.A.

"They have a lot of work to do before David finishes playing soccer in Spain," says the People source. "Their house in Madrid needs to be sold before they move in July."