Some housing bubble reports from California. "The Inland housing and construction market is slowing down, but it isn't likely to experience the dramatic price drops of the early 1990s, a longtime Inland Empire economist said Thursday. A combination of overbuilt and overpriced housing, slowing home sales and rising interest rates will cause a construction slowdown over the next few months, said Michael Bazdarich."

"'It's unclear whether there's a housing bubble,' Bazdarich said. New-housing permits are expected to continue to drop over the next year or two in the Inland Empire, and construction hiring should begin slowing down in coming months, Bazdarich said."

"A local Realtor acknowledged that his colleagues are concerned about the direction of the local housing market. 'Our inventory of available homes has tripled in the last year,' said Gene Wunderlich, a former chairman of the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors. Between 500 and 700 homes a month are selling in Southwest Riverside County, down from about 1,200 sold monthly during last summer's peak."

The Fresno Bee. "After a decade of growth, the local housing boom appears to be slowing in 2006. Through May 31, Visalia issued 584 building permits for new single-family homes this year, shy of the torrid rate of 2005, when a record 1,450 permits were issued for new houses."

"After two years of a red-hot real estate market in Santa Clarita, May home sales took a dive and experts on Wednesday predicted a slow summer. Realtors sold 234 single-family homes in May, down 35.4 percent from May 2005. A total of 123 condominiums sold, a 27.2 percent drop from a year ago."

"Realtors spin the slowdown as good news for buyers who have more choices as inventory grows and homes are available longer. 'Housing is selling, but not as quickly as a year ago,' said Peggy Mueller, president of the association's Santa Clarita Valley Division. 'Frankly, I happen to like it that way because buyers and sellers have opportunities.'"

"The San Fernando Valley's housing market remained sluggish in May with sales falling an annual 25 percent and the median price increasing by its smallest margin in 62 months." "It was the eighth consecutive month in which sales declined from the previous year and in which sales numbered less than 1,000. The last time the latter happened was during a 20-month string that began in September 1996."

"'I think what we're going to see is interest rates stay favorable and sellers negotiate a little bit more than they are now,' said Southland Regional Association of Realtors VP Jim Link. Buyers are saying 'Hey, things are coming down, and we can start bargaining.'"

"At the end of May there were 4,072 houses listed for sale, 130.3 percent more than a year ago. Including condos, inventory increased 145.7 percent last month."