The Dataquick numbers are out. "Southern California home prices climbed to a new peak last month, even as June sales fell to a seven- year low; the result of higher borrowing costs, more inventory and less urgency among buyers."

"'Many view this as a great conundrum: Prices continue to rise, as sales continue to slow. It happened for two years in San Diego before prices last month finally fell slightly below year-ago levels. We view this as the normal winding down of a real estate cycle, where declining demand gradually erodes price growth until it halts or reverses. We expect more markets to see prices flatten or decline a bit in the second half of this year,' said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president."

"A total of 29,237 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 17.5 percent from 35,454 in June last year. Sales have declined for seven consecutive months on a year-over-year basis."

"Last month's 29,237 sales were the lowest for a June since 1999, when 29,076 homes sold. The strongest June was in 2005, when 35,454 homes sold, while the weakest was in 1992, with 16,335 sales."

"The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $2,437 last month, up from $2,376 for the previous month, and up from $2,021 for June a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are about 8.4 percent above typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle."

"The remaining June results released today were highlighted by some steep sales drops: 32.3% in Ventura County, 26.3% in Orange County, 14.9% in San Bernardino County and 8.6% in Riverside County."

"Orange County's housing market is losing steam. The median price of $646,000 was up 7 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual increase in nearly seven years, DataQuick said. The rate of appreciation has decreased each month since February's 11 percent. It should drop to zero by the end of the year, said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage."

"Buyers closed on 3,608 homes last month, a 26.3 percent decline from a year ago and the eighth straight month of sluggish sales."

"A slip in home prices in San Diego as demand for condominiums slackens is giving the chills to some in this sun-drenched California city. San Diego is experiencing a 'condo-led decline' because owners are putting units on an already glutted market, said consultant Alan Nevin. 'In a lot of parts of San Diego, there is no give at all on the single-family side,' Nevin noted."

"John Burns, an Irvine, California, consultant to home builders, notes San Diego area prices for existing single-family homes have been flat for a year. 'There are no desperate sellers in the resale market with two exceptions,' Burns said, pointing to investors who overestimated demand for high-end condos and apartments converted to condos."

"Home prices across San Diego will plateau, (economist) Alan Gin predicted. 'The conditions aren't there for a big rebound in prices or for a big drop,' he said. 'We would need a big drop in interest rates to get any significant movement on prices on the upside. We would need to see some significant job losses, a recession at the national level, to get a big drop in prices.'"

"The market's median price for resale condos fell 2.1 percent to $386,750 in June from $395,000 a year earlier. The month's median for new homes, which includes new condos and buildings converted to condos, dropped 8 percent to $422,000 from $458,750 a year earlier, according to DataQuick."