A report from the Orange County Register in California. "Southern California’s housing market hit a big pothole in September, with home sales sinking almost 18 percent from the year before, CoreLogic reported. It’s the biggest sales drop in nearly eight years. Agents throughout the region say they are seeing the slowdown."

"'Houses are staying on the market longer,' said Liliana Alfonso, an agent with Rodeo Realty in Studio City. 'I think buyers are having a lot of trouble. … There’s a big gap there between what the cost of housing is and what people can afford.'"

"In Cypress, just southeast of L.A. County, Berkshire Hathaway’s Nancy Huang sees homes taking longer to sell. 'Because it used to be a hot seller’s market, (sellers) are expecting to get top dollar for their homes,' Huang said. But, she added, 'buyers are seeing homes sit a bit longer, so (buyers) have more leverage. … They can negotiate more on the price.'"

"Jordan Levine, the Realtor economist, said buyers remember the 2007 market crash and are holding off, waiting for prices to drop. 'Folks are worried that prices are at a peak,' Levine said."

"The slowdown has prompted Riverside agent Mike Brusca to caution clients not to cut their price when their homes take longer to sell. 'A lot of times, if the home doesn’t sell in the first month, they panic,' said Brusca of Westcoe Realtors."

"'Fewer bidding wars. That’s where we are,' said El Segundo broker Moses Dennis. 'Buyers are balking, and that’s why houses are not moving as fast.'"

The Union Tribune. "San Diego County home sales dropped 17.5 percent to the lowest level in 11 years for a September in the first significant sign of a slowdown in the market, CoreLogic reported. Last month, 2,942 homes sold in the county, down from 3,568 sales a year ago. It was the lowest number of sales for a September since just before the Great Recession when 2,152 sold in September 2007."

"Also, last month’s median home price dropped to $575,000 — the first decrease since January — after hitting an all-time high of $583,000 in August. San Diego was not isolated in a sales drop in September, with some of the highest priced markets seeing the biggest sales drops."

"Rising home prices throughout the year have been largely attributed to a strong economy mixed with strong competition for a limited number of homes for sale. However, the home inventory in September was one of its highest in years, said data from the Greater San Diego Association of Realtors."

"There were 7,824 homes for sale in September, up from 5,678 in September 2017; 6,597 in 2016; and 7,134 in 2015."

"The CoreLogic report showed that all types of housing in the county had a price reduction and sales drop in September. There were 255 newly built homes sold for a median price of $702,500. Condos had one of the biggest drops in sales, 867, which was its lowest since February. The median home price for condos, the fastest rising in the resale market this year, was $427,500 in September, down from the all-time high of $432,000 in July."

"Resale single-family homes are typically seen as the biggest indicator of the market because it makes up the largest portion. There were 1,820 sales, the lowest since February. Also, the median was $615,000 — down from the peak of $630,000 reached in June and July."

"The closely watched S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices showed the resale home market in the San Diego metropolitan area losing momentum. David Blitzer, managing director of the index, wrote in the report that a repeat of the housing crash is unlikely because default rates are low for mortgages right now."

"'Without a collapse in housing finance like the one seen 12 years ago,' he wrote, 'a crash in home prices is unlikely.'"

From The Real Deal. "The Westlake branch of mortgage processing firm Urban Fulfillment Services LLC is shutting its doors, a possible symptom of the slowing housing market."

"The closure will result in the elimination of 85 jobs, including financial analysts, credit risk analysts, financial associates, and team leaders, according to the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. The layoffs are effective Dec. 3. This year the L.A. has seen its slowest summer for home sales in four years. But the slowdown isn’t unique to Southern California."

"Urban Fulfillment wouldn’t be the first, nor the largest mortgage-related business to downsize. Rising interest rates and pricing have slowed down the housing market nationwide, prompting some of the biggest lenders in the country to downsize their operations."

"JPMorgan Chase was the latest major player to do so, laying off 400 employees around the country in October. Wells Fargo laid off 650 mortgage employees in August. Chicago-based BMO Harris Bank laid off 170 mortgage workers at its branches not long after JPMorgan did."

"On top of that, non-bank lenders have been siphoning off lending business from traditional lenders for years. They now account for 10 percent of market share, or five times their share in 2014."