Some housing bubble reports from California. "Los Angeles County home prices in July rose at their slowest pace in six years while values in San Diego County continued to fall, more evidence that the Southland's real estate market continues to slump, data released today show. Sales in Los Angeles County plunged 25%, the eighth consecutive month of declines, according to DataQuick."

"Leading the way is San Diego County, where prices depreciated for the second straight month. San Diego's median price fell 1.8% to $487,000 last month compared to the year-ago period, while sales dropped nearly 30%, DataQuick said."

"Even the most bullish housing analysts and real estate agents expect the rest of Southern California to eventually follow suit. 'The market isn't exactly falling off a cliff but is slowing more rapidly than we've seen in a long time,' said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst. 'Price growth is descending consistently but gradually,' he added. 'Everyone's always said a soft landing could include minor price declines.'"

"Signaling an end to the San Fernando Valley's real-estate boom, the median price of a home increased in July by its slimmest margin in a decade amid a lingering sales slump, a trade association reported."

"The median price of a previously owned home rose just 1.2 percent, or $7,000, last month from the July 2005 level, said the Van Nuys-based Southland Regional Association of Realtors. And it fell $18,000, or 2.9 percent, from June's record $625,000. Inventory has been steadily rising and at the end of July had soared an annual 127 percent, to 6,381 properties."

"Sales have now fallen for nine straight months, plunging by 32.8 percent, to 809 transactions, in July. That's the lowest number sold in July since the 800 total for that month in 1993. 'I think what we need to see is the asking price in some (cases) to come down and buyers to realize it's not a fire sale. This is not '92 or '93 when foreclosures were the norm and the bottom was dropping out of the market, (said) Jim Link, the association's executive vice president.'

Inside Bay Area. "Stockton landed on the top 10 list of the nation's cities with the highest foreclosure rates in the second quarter, according to a report released Wednesday. The Central Valley city was No. 8 on the list, with 1,228 homes in some stage of foreclosure."

"The San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose region saw foreclosure rates climb 23 percent from the previous quarter. Realtors and experts blamed rising mortgage rates and a leveling off or falling of home prices for the increasing foreclosure activity. 'If there's a little glitch in the market and an owner loses a job, there's no wiggle room,' said Dave Konesky, a Realtor in Tracy. 'Values are not rising like they were, so you can't just go out and refinance.'"

"Konesky said the foreclosure activity is high among first-time buyers, who, he says, are not used to the expenses of home ownership like the high summer PG&E bills for air conditioning in the Central Valley."

The Modesto Bee. "A long period of frenzied lending activity has given way to growing nervousness among people seeking new or refinanced mortgages. At Capital Pacific Mortgage, brokers are seeing consumers concerned about buying a home because it won't grow in value as quickly as before."

"'With fewer people looking for homes, asking prices are more likely to stay the same, or even drop, said Capital Pacific's Modesto branch manager, Sondra Yates. 'Buyers don't realize that it's their market,' she said."

"People looking to refinance their mortgages are also nervous, industry experts said. Many of them bought their homes with adjustable-rate mortgages. As rates go up, they could find themselves with monthly payments they can't afford."

"Modesto's Roxanne Myers is caught in a refinancing dilemma, she said. She has an adjustable-rate mortgage that's about to go higher, so she wants to refinance. However, she also can't afford the monthly payment on a fixed-rate mortgage, she said."

"'It's scary,' Myers said. 'I'll probably get another ARM that's fixed for five years. I don't want to sell, but that may become a reality.'"

"Because houses appreciated so fast, many people gravitated to buying and selling as a quick way to make money, mortgage brokers said. Now, real estate is returning to its status as a dependable moneymaker over the long term, they said."

"'You're getting the same house cheaper than you did six to eight months ago,' American Residential Mortgage's Patrick Payan said. 'Real estate has always been a long-term investment.'"