"Property Ladder" Host Still Bullish on California -- Sort Of

Shaky market aside, TLC's "Property Ladder" host Kirsten Kemp -- a veteran real estate agent, developer and designer -- says she's still bullish on home flipping, even in California.

Kirsten is based in Santa Barbara, and the "Property Ladder" production team in Los Angeles -- which is why the majority of "Property Ladder" flips take place in our own backyard. The series focuses on first-time flippers, and has done a better job than others in illustrating how difficult and risky the world of home flips can be -- even though, given recent go-go housing market, most of the novices managed to screw up big time and still wind up pocketing a profit. (Maria and I dig the show, particularly when Kirsten raises her eyebrow at a naive flipper's unrealistic goals. We do hate when they still manage to sell the house in the end.)

That isn't going to be the case going forward. Flippers without experience are starting to lose their shirts, and the shows that document the world of real estate flips -- including "Property Ladder" -- are starting to reflect that change.

"It is going to make things more interesting," says Kirsten, who I spoke to last week for a Variety story. "This is what will separate the boys from the men. You have to educate yourself. ... It's not just paint and tile and fabric. It's a business and needs to be respected as such."

But Kirsten, who has been in real estate for 15 years, says a volatile marketplace like the one we've entered "presents an opportunity for the savvy investor. I'm still flipping. I'm just going to be a lot more careful where I'm flipping."

Kirsten is particularly big on Northern California, as well as Santa Barbara and Montecito, where "the high end is still moving like crazy."

"Anything on the market for $3 million, $4 million gets snapped up quickly," says Kirsten, who says she recently saw a home in Santa Barbara being sold for $5 million -- "totally overpriced" -- still get a quick sale.

But those big-ticket flips "are not something Middle America can relate to," she admits. That may be why "Property Ladder" is spending more time out of California now, in order to find more interesting stories in places where flipping is still viable. The show is also including more people who have already flipped a home or two (although that takes away from one of "Property Ladder's" big draws: Watching those newbies falling flat on their face).

Over at TLC, which runs "Property Ladder," execs aren't all that concerned about a bubble pop. Actually, Brant Pinvidic, TLC's senior VP of programming, believes it will make for good TV.

"From a TV perspective, it makes things much easier for me," he told me for the Variety story. "It increases the stakes. And I want people with real stakes."

Meanwhile, the Bravo network exec in charge of new flip show "Flipping Out" notes that her biggest problem with the show has to do with sticker price. L.A.'s inflated home costs confuse viewers in other parts of the country, who watch the show's stars buy a 2 bedroom, 1 bath small house for just under a $1 million. In most of the country, that will get you a small mansion. Here, not so much.

(Check out my Variety story here.)