California Real estate market expected to cool off

The San Jose Mercury reports:

California's housing market is likely to cool off in 2006, with fewer sales than this year and slower appreciation than in the past few years, according to a forecast by the California Association of Realtors.

The forecast, scheduled to be released today, predicts that the median sales price statewide will increase 10 percent in 2006, to $575,500. The number of predicted sales statewide for 2006 is 630,610, down 2 percent from this year's estimated record high.