A report from Curbed Los Angeles in California. "For the first time since January, home prices in Los Angeles County fell month-to-month in July, according to CoreLogic. The median sale price for the month was $607,500, down 1.2 percent since June, when home prices soared to a record-high $615,000. LA’s all-time price record had been shattered in each month leading up to July. But real estate experts have predicted that Southern California’s hot real estate market could be cooling off. A recent analysis from Zillow found that the number of homes on the market with price cuts is up since the beginning of the year, suggesting that buyer interest may be waning."

"Rising mortgage interest rates are making even small jumps in sale prices significantly more difficult for buyers to cover. Factoring in interest rate growth, median mortgage payments were around 13 percent higher in July than a year ago, according to CoreLogic analyst Andrew LePage. That may also be contributing to an drop in the overall number of home sales. In LA County, 6,971 homes sold in July—down from 7,607 a month earlier. LePage says declining sales can’t be explained by the number of houses on the market."

"'The overall trend in recent months, has been toward more listings,' he says. Instead, it’s possible that many home shoppers are simply 'unable or unwilling to buy.'"

The Orange County Register. "Todd and Jennifer Martindale wanted to sell their starter home in Whittier and buy a home with a bigger kitchen closer to family and their son’s school in Placentia. After eight months, they abandoned their search. Rising prices and higher interest rates made it impossible to afford a new home in that area — even with the added cash they’d get from the sale of their old house."

"'Our mortgage payments would go up $400 or $500 a month, which we just couldn’t swing,' said Todd Martindale, 43, a software developer. 'We saw the grass was not greener on the other side.'"

"Discouraged home buyers may be behind the current market slowdown that’s transforming Southern California from a clear seller’s market into one where homes sit longer and owners are dropping their asking prices, market watchers said. After three years of smoking-hot sales and soaring home prices, Southern California has seen year-over-year sales drops in eight of the past 12 months, according to CoreLogic. The California Association of Realtors, which tracks sales of single-family homes, reported year-over-year declines in 10 of the past 12 months."

"As a result, the number of homes on the market mushroomed. Southern California listings increased to nearly 46,000 homes by Aug. 23, up by nearly 7,100 — or 18 percent — from the same period last year, according to Steve Thomas’ Reports On Housing. 'For years, sellers have been in control of the housing market. Multiple offers were generated almost instantaneously after hammering in the for sale sign,' Thomas said in his latest report. Today’s market, Thomas wrote, 'does not favor sellers or buyers.'"

"So, where have all the buyers gone? Market analysts say many are being priced out. 'High home prices and rising interest rates combined to crimp housing affordability, which in turn is subduing home sales,' California Realtor President Steve White said. 'Some of the reluctance by buyers appears to be driven by fears that the market may be peaking.'"