A new social stigma could be on the rise in America:

oceanfront property that shares it’s waves with oil rigs could be due a serious price correction.

Or, perhaps, oceanfront property that doesn’t have an oil rig somewhere out of sight just over the horizon could come at a premium to “risky” property investments where black crude poses a risk to tourist laden beaches.

So with news of the second oil spill coming from the Mariner Energy rig just weeks after the worst oil spill in U.S. history, one has to wonder just how much the perception of real estate is going to react being that Gulf Coast home values are already down 5% to 15% from the BP/Transocean disaster.

Guess that sunbather in a gas mask, who was supposedly a homeowner herself, didn’t realize her publicity stunt would knock as much as 15% or more of her home’s resale value and, potentially, a new wave in Gulf Coast short sales and foreclosures due to a terrible vacation season.

The number one rule of real estate is location, location, location, but as one could argue, it’s more about perception, perception, perception. If the BP oil spill along Florida’s relatively untouched pristine sandy beaches taught us, it’s that the perception of a “dirty oil covered beach” overrode even Presidential referrals that the beaches were untouched and open for business.