House Prices Begin to Fall In California

Southern California is now considered the country’s fifth most at risk area for falling house prices. The almost 60% chance of falling prices in California is the latest indicator of a downsizing real estate market, feeling the pinch after the boom in early 2005. Other area in California make up three of the other four positions for high-risk areas. California has consistently been the highest priced area when it comes to home sales; while other parts of the country are seeing a stabilized market, California is now starting to see a decrease in the prices that houses are selling for.

Home appreciation is also starting to take a toll, with 34 markets reporting that homes have stalled in their appreciation. Analyst often look to California to judge how the real estate market is changing; the new slide in prices has made some think that housing across the country could not only level off, but begin to fall.