The Press Democrat reports from California. "Sonoma County home prices fell in July for the first time in more than four years, the latest sign that the once-booming housing market continues to slow. July's median resale price was $595,000, down 3.3 percent from the same month a year ago, when the median stood at $615,000. It was the first year-over-year decline since February 2002."

"In Sonoma County, home sales hit an 11-year low for the month of July and have dropped for 10 consecutive months in year-over-year comparisons. While the slowdown was anticipated since the market peaked a year ago, longtime brokers were surprised by the price drop."

"'I didn't think it would go down as quickly this soon. I don't think it's hit bottom,' said broker Beth Robertson in Rohnert Park."

"To make homes stand out in an increasingly crowded market, sellers often are pricing homes at least 2 percent below what the same home could have sold for a year ago and pricing under comparable properties already sitting for sale. Sellers also are more willing to offer incentives to buyers."

"Buyers haven't faced such an advantageous market in a decade. Sellers still are adjusting after enjoying a run of strong sales and often soaring prices. 'It's a correction that was needed,' broker Karl Bundesen said. 'I think it's taking some sellers a little longer to get with the program and realize the market has changed. There's still sellers coming on the market unrealistically.'"

"'A sense of urgency drove people into the market. Now what we have is the opposite of that,' Coldwell Banker manager Rick Laws said. 'And now the herding instinct is to wait and see if prices soften further.'"

From the Signal. "Despite record numbers of active listings and significant slumps in sales, local Realtors say the Santa Clarita housing market will bounce back. In July, typically the busiest month of the year, just 237 single-family homes changed hands, down 35.2 percent from July 2005. Correspondingly, inventory remained high with 1,814 single-family homes in active listings, more than triple last year's 593."

"'It's very simple,' said (broker) Celia Gallardo in Newhall. 'It's now a buyer's market.' However, converting to a buyer's market forces sellers to reduce prices, she said. 'People need to realize that they are not going to get the prices they got last year,' she said. 'They need to come down by 20 percent.'"

The Lodi News Sentinel. "Her house has been on the market for only three weeks, but Lodi resident Trina Reese is skeptical as to whether it will actually sell. 'Houses just aren't selling,' she said. 'Last year houses down the street were selling at $650,000 within a week or two, but now it's a buyer's market.'"

"Paul Mertz, president of the Lodi Association of Realtors, said the market is still seeing stable housing prices, but a larger inventory. 'Last year in July we had 133 homes on the market,' he said. 'Last month there were 470. This is a normal market where sellers just have to be more realistic about their expectations.'"

The LA Daily News loks at the new affordability index. "Rising prices and interest rates during the second quarter combined to drive down housing affordability across California to a record low for first-time buyers, a trade association said Thursday. The figure is seven percentage points under last year's second-quarter level."

"This is the first affordability index using methodology that is supposed to better reflect current market conditions. The index needed to be modified because of changes in the mortgage-finance arena. For example, the first-time buyer index is based in part on a 10 percent down payment, with the purchase financed by an adjustable-rate loan."

"Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., agrees that this is a more accurate way to gauge affordability. But it paints the same kind of market snapshot as the old version, which was retired in January."

"'The news is still depressing,' Kyser said. 'Affordability is not going to improve. It's going to be tough to deliver entry-level housing in Los Angeles and Orange counties.'"