A report from the North Bay Business Journal in California. "Real estate experts around the North Bay are getting early inklings that housing markets in the region are cooling after several years of rapid appreciation in sale prices and rents. Some of it is thought to be related to the destruction of more than 6,000 dwellings in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties during the wildfires of last October and this past summer. But there are other local indicators a shift may be underway toward more of a market balance."

"By fall, many sales going into escrow in Sonoma County have had one offer on them and the price had been reduced to sweeten the deal, he said. That resistance is leading to houses remaining on the market longer. The shift in the housing market from the early months of this year is also being felt in Marin and Napa counties, according to Robert Bradley, managing broker of Bradley Real Estate."

"'We’ve seen a shift in 2012 to a seller’s market, and now the momentum is shifting toward buyers,' Bradley said. 'Prices, in my estimation, probably peaked for this cycle.'"

"One sign of a more balanced market is an increase in the number of dwellings sold, Bradley said. 'They have to shift from a multiple-offer market to price properties competitively for the market,” he said. 'Buyer agents have to be willing to write offers that negotiate price, and sellers have to be willing to negotiate. … What tends to happen is sellers get stubborn, part of it is the fault of the agent who is telling stories of houses getting six or seven offers.'"

"The number of properties for sale in the quarter was 12.3 percent higher than a year before. Now, buyers have 'more choices than they have had in years,' said Logan Songer, general manager of Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley."

"In a rough look at property-tax data for the third quarters of 2015 through this year, Bradley found a 'huge' jump from last year to this year in sales of dwellings in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties that weren’t owner-occupied."

"'Investors tend to be the wisest group of clients,' Bradley said. 'They have a gut sixth sense about things. When I saw a large percentage of sales to these folks, it told me we are probably at the top of the market. It’s affecting some of our clients doing major remodels,' Bradley said. 'Some properties they thought they could buy and improve may not have as much margin as they originally thought.'"

"The condo market also seems to be not as hot in recent months. 'I’m hearing from my agents that condos are selling for less than they were before,' Bradley said. 'That’s telling me that maybe the market has gone down a bit. It may have been because of people who overpaid, but to me it is a leading sign that the market is slowing down.'"

From NBC San Diego. "It's up in the air right now whether restrictions passed by the San Diego City Council will be permanent on short-term vacation rentals. Regardless of if they go through or not, what does it mean for the local real estate market?"

"Kuhn said the market is now experiencing a net-negative domestic migration, meaning more people are leaving San Diego than coming in. A factor that could stabilize rent rates and prices."

"'If the ordinance goes through in July, there would be a temptation for people who own those units to put them on the market for sale,' said Kuhn. 'You'll see rents stabilize and more homes up for sale.' Which means housing costs for buyers would decrease, according to Kuhn."

From Realtor.com. "Case Study House #21 in Los Angeles—designed by Pierre Koenig—is now available at a discounted price. The showstopping home went on the market two years ago for $4.5 million, but didn't attract a buyer. Its new list price is $3.6 million."