12 Topekas, 1 Beverly Hills: Tough trade

NEW YORK -- Pity the poor, modern-day Jed Clampett, exchanging the simple and inexpensive life of the Ozarks for the glitz, glamour -- and prices -- of Beverly Hills. A typical middle-class house in the Southern California city now costs more than 10 times what a similar place sells for near Clampett's old stomping grounds, Fort Smith, Ark.
That's according to the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index released Wednesday. The index provides