Another Southern California home-price boom is cooling. Is a crash looming?
LOS ANGELES - The Southern California housing market has been on a nearly seven-year tear, with prices in many communities reaching all-time highs.
But now, as mortgage rates rise, the boom appears to be fading. Sales are dropping; inventory is swelling; more sellers are scaling back their ambitious asking prices.
The annals of postwar Southern California real estate history are full of boom-and-bust cycles, with periods of sharp price appreciation that suddenly skid to a halt. Whether those ups and downs offer any guidance - or hope - for today's homeowners is a subject for debate.
Some of those who study the housing market predict annual price increases will slow. Others think values could dip. But there is general agreement that a meltdown is not in the offing, given a healthy economy and dearth of
