Bay Area boom easing

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Bay Area home sales in November edged down for the eighth month in a row, but price growth remained strong -- signs of a market that is easing from its frenzied state.

The median price for a single-family home in the nine-county region hit a record $656,000 in November, up from $644,000 the month before, according to research company DataQuick.

Last month's median price represented a 17 percent climb over November 2004 -- at the lower end of the 17-to-20.5 percent increases seen during the past 11 months.

Will the higher the prices go the bigger the downside move in San Francisco real estate?