The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "The average price of a home area has fallen by about $100,000 to the high $300,000-range at Centex Homes developments in Sacramento, said John Ochsner, Centex's executive VP of the Northern California region. The decline in new- home sales in the Bay Area has been apparent in Contra Costa County, where the price of a new home fell 20.5 percent from $717,000 to $570,000 between October 2005 and October 2006, according to DataQuick."

"'Buyers over there are demanding price reductions and incentives and we're responding to that,' Ochsner said. 'Buyers have all the power at the moment.'"

The Daily News. "Over the summer, John Toole put his Woodland Hills home on the market for $1,695,000 and waited for a rush of prospective buyers. And waited, and waited and waited."

"He eventually slashed his asking price by $100,000. Nothing changed. 'It didn't bring anybody around. Nothing. The market is absolutely dead,' Toole said. 'I was amazed.'"

"The number of 'For Sale' signs across the San Fernando Valley soared earlier this year and many now feature 'Price Reduced' banners. So is this the 1990s all over again? 'It feels exactly the same,' said Realtor Raquel Magro. Magro has been selling Valley houses and condominiums for 24 years and has seen both bust and boom."

The San Luis Obispo Tribune. "After significant speculation about when San Luis Obispo County home prices would decline, the year-over-year median home price recently registered its first drop in eight years, according to the California Association of Realtors."

"But local real estate agents say they didn’t need an economist to tell them what they have been witnessing for the last several months. Price reductions have been commonplace throughout the county."

"In nearby Pismo Beach, the median home price is slightly down. Several agents said that buyers are pushing back on the prices being asked for properties there. 'In Pismo, what we may be seeing is that the views and proximity to the ocean are being overrated by sellers and buyers aren’t willing to pay for it,' said David Skinner, manager of Prudential California Realty in Arroyo Grande."

"'I cannot believe that the median home price had not gone down sooner. We’ve been dealing with price reductions for the last year in North County,' said Ed Steinbeck, a broker associate in Paso Robles. In fact, Paso Robles is seeing some of the sharpest declines in sales throughout the county."

"Some of the price reductions are also because of the number of new home developments in the North County. 'We constantly have new homes that are coming into the market. We don’t have the luxury to just sit on those homes. We have to figure out what it’s going to take to move those homes so we react more quickly,' explained Chris Bowley, Central Coast division manager for Centex Homes."

The Press Democrat. "Sonoma County lost jobs for the sixth straight month, shedding 3,100 over the past year, according to state employment numbers released Friday. The biggest job loss in Sonoma County occurred in construction, electronic instrument manufacturing and the service sector."

"With the real estate market well down from its record high in August 2005, construction has slowed and the sector has shed about 400 jobs since a year ago."

The Desert Sun. "The ranks of licensed real estate agents have ballooned to nearly 4,200 in the Coachella Valley. Some real estate professionals have trimmed their commissions, real estate agents said. At the same time, some homeowners (are) in a pinch to sell their residences quickly with a flood of some 8,000 homes on the market."

"Clients need to know about changes in price appreciation and market conditions because 'seller expectations are rooted in a four-year boom that was not sustainable,' said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors."

The Union Tribune. "After two whirlwind years of million-dollar sales, professional accolades and hefty paydays, real estate agent John Leverson never expected to find himself selling power wheelchairs and scooters to make ends meet."

"Leverson's love affair with real estate began to sour in the fall of 2005, when San Diego County's housing market reached its peak. Prices flattened and then began to slowly decline as the region's inventory of unsold homes swelled."

"Leverson soon found himself struggling to pay the costs of advertising, insurance, multiple listing services, lock box fees, membership dues and gasoline. About three months ago, he called it quits, taking a full-time job at The Scooter Store in Clairemont."

"Although he still has one listing, he says he no longer can afford to chase the dream of a career in real estate. Without steady sales, 'your cash flow goes out as fast as it comes in,' he said. 'I was forced to go out and find another job where I had a regular income.'"

"One of the most telling signs of a cooled real estate market is the large inventory of homes for sale. The Realtors trade group reports that San Diego County had a 9.8-month supply of unsold, resale single-family houses in September, compared with a 4.7-month supply a year earlier."

"Word has gotten out that the days of fast money for agents is over, said Kathleen Monaco, director of (a) real estate school in San Diego. Enrollment in her classes 'is down significantly.' 'I hate to see prices go down, but the idea that they could keep going up 30 percent a year was crazy,' she said."

"Back at The Scooter Store, Leverson hasn't ruled out a return to real estate, but for now he plans to focus on his new job and rebuilding his finances. 'The priority is paying bills and eating,' he said."