Exclusive | Killer tides pummel Malibu's ritziest enclave as celeb homes sit unsold: 'It's so depressing'

Inside Malibu Colony on Saturday, the guard-gated enclave’s high-powered homeowners were cleaning up after high tides tore away many of their oceanfront decks and the stairs leading down to the beach. Wood planks and rusty nails churned in the surf. Shards of glass from blown-out windows piled up on battered decks like a Hollywood crime scene — the aftermath of Tropical Storm Rachel’s punishing waves and unusually high tides. Other residents were mopping up seawater and sand that had seeped into their homes and prized tea houses. A Colony association meeting was canceled Saturday so neighbors could tend to the damage. 6 Tropical Storm Rachel’s waves and unusually high tides ripped decks and beach stairs from homes in Malibu’s guard-gated Colony, flooding some houses with seawater and sand and forcing residents to cancel an association meeting to deal with the mess. London Entertainment for NY Post 6 The damage was milder than in Newport Beach and Long Beach, but sales in the celebrity enclave have stalled as buyers hold off, with three more king tides expected before year’s end and a Christmas full moon that could push tides above 7 feet. Jennifer Gould “It’s so depressing, first you have to drive through where the wildfires were and now this. Anybody who comes here for Thanksgiving is crazy. You’d only be able to cook half a turkey before the electricity is turned off [due to high winds],” one Colony board member told The Post. Explore More Iconic Plaza Hotel abruptly shutters — and closure could last for 4 years Historic NYC churches and landmarks at risk of being razed for the sake of ‘affordable housing’ NYC sees biggest wave of homes for sale in four years The Colony got off easier than Newport Beach and Long Beach, where waves crashed over seawalls and flooded streets. But the enclave is still hurting. Sales have stalled as residents and buyers sit tight, and brokers expect three more king tides before year’s end. “Malibu Colony is low-key but everybody here is super rich. Whenever anyone talks about the fires, they never mention Malibu. Everyone thinks, ‘F–k you, you are already rich and this is probably your second home even though so many homes burned down,’” a resident said. 6 Shattered glass is seen at the gated community Malibu Colony in Malibu, California, on Saturday Oct. 10, 2026. Jennifer Gould Malibu is often dubbed the “wildfire capital” of North America, and roughly 700 homes inside city limits were destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Fire. Flames returned to the Malibu hills late Thursday afternoon, when the Bryson Fire broke out in brush near Encinal Canyon Road and Mulholland Highway. Fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds, it scorched 200 acres by evening with zero containment. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for parts of the area, though no structures had burned and no one had been injured at press time. Known as the Colony, or the original Malibu, the enclave has been a Hollywood power base since the days of Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin, and later Jack Warner, Bing Crosby, Jane Fonda and Frank Capra. Past and present residents include Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Ridley Scott, Chris Columbus, Spike Jonze, the late Rob and Michele Reiner, Jim Carrey, Paul Reiser, Ed Norton and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. 6 Among the sellers feeling the chill are Spike Jonze, who is asking $22 million for the five-bedroom Cape Cod-style home he bought from Roma Downey for $18 million in 2023. RF for California Post Jonze is among the Colony’s current sellers. The Oscar-winning filmmaker and music video director behind “Being John Malkovich,” “Adaptation,” “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Her” paid $18 million for the home in 2023. The seller was “Touched by an Angel” actress Roma Downey, who bought it years before her 2007 marriage to “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett. The five-bedroom Cape Cod-style house, built in 1963, is now asking $22 million. It has ocean views and a pool, a rarity in the Colony. The main suite comes with a fireplace, sitting areas, a sundeck and a skylight, while a third floor could work as a screening lounge, home office or extra sleeping space. Beamed ceilings and ample room for indoor-outdoor entertaining round out the package. Still, the threat of coastal flooding has injected fresh uncertainty into the deal, sources say. “I considered buying it, but now with all of this weather and the unknowns, I’m going to hold off,” one prospective buyer told Gimme Shelter. “No-one’s buying now.” 6 FleaVhas cut the price on his four-bedroom to $7.995 million from $8.495 million. RF for California Post 6 Storm damage is seen at the gated community Malibu Colony, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. Jennifer Gould Listing broker Damon Skelton of Compass declined to comment. Flea, whose real name is Michael Peter Balzary, has also listed his Colony home. It’s asking $7.995 million, down from $8.495 million in March. The bassist paid $7.55 million for the four-bedroom, built in 1959, in 2020. Listing brokers Sandro Dazzan and Irene Dazzan-Palmer of The Agency declined to comment. The next high tides are expected in late October and November. “[This period] will bring a lot of damage with it as there is not a lot of time to put in protective measures,” a resident said, adding that a full moon around Christmas could push tides to between 6 feet 7 inches and 7 feet 2 inches. “If this happens in Malibu and no one has been red-tagged, then tragedy is coming,” the resident added. “[The king tides] will cause damage on top of damage and no one will be down here to see it. That’s all I know, as this danger is a new reality.” As for the full moon, the resident said, “They are usually lovely to watch. Not this year.”