A report from the Times of San Diego on California. "San Diego home prices fell in November for the fourth consecutive month, according to the authoritative Case-Shiller report. Other West Coast cities, including Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle, also experienced home price declines in November. 'Sales peaked in November 2017 and drifted down through 2018,' said David M. Blitzer, managing director."

The Orange County Register. "Four Orange County homes sold for over $30 million a piece last year. Construction boomlets were going strong in some high-end spots, and speculative builders cashed in on luxury flips. But as interest rates inched up, supply swelled and political and global forces came into play, overall sales dropped."

"'The market is in transition,' said Steve High, president of Villa Real Estate. The firm was involved in the two most expensive sales of the year. The longtime Orange County real estate executive and agent sees the new tax law beginning to have an impact on the luxury market. It’s also become harder for prospective Southern California buyers from China to get their money out of that country, he said. And he wonders if the whirl of building and remodeling could lead to a glut of luxury homes for sale in 2019."

"More high-end sales closed in Orange County than ever in 2018 – 3,945, up from 3,897 in 2017, according to Steve Thomas’ Reports on Housing, a biweekly analysis of the local market. But sales slowed dramatically in the second half of the year, Thomas said, beginning in the spring. By mid-October, he said, supply peaked at 2,163 homes – 19 percent more than in 2017."

"'There simply were not enough buyers actively looking to buy,' he said. 'On the other hand, there were plenty of sellers competing with each other.'"

The Los Angeles Times. "Crystal Hefner’s hop into the real estate game seems to be going well. The former Playboy bunny and widow of Hugh Hefner has sold her modern home in Hollywood Hills West for $5 million, records show. West for $5 million, records show. The pair paid $4.995 million for the home in 2013 a few months after getting married."

From 7 San Diego. "A survey of the Bay Area's real estate shows San Francisco has fallen out of the top-three hottest markets. The Case-Shiller home price index shows San Francisco home prices fell for the second month in a row, which is only the second time that has happened in nearly a decade."

"'It's telling us that things are beginning to slow down,' said Gregg Lynn with Sotheby's International Realty. Lynn deals in the highest end neighborhoods of San Francisco. The great majority of his clients do not need a mortgage to buy a multi-million dollar property. 'I think it's happening because of the trends that are happening in the United States,' Lynn said."

"The trends he is talking about are a volatile stock market, an economic upset and something you could call the Trump card. 'I think people hold their breath during presidential cycles that are pretty stressful,' Lynn said. 'And I think you'd agree the past two elections we've had have been pretty stressful.'"

"Further down in the real estate market, Caleb Mitchell is representing a triplex in Bernal Heights that has been on the market since Thanksgiving with only one offer that fell through. Mitchell believes the slowdown could be blamed on a rise in interest rates last fall."

"Lynn said sellers are having to soften their expectations. And they are, especially with condominiums, which fell 2.4 percent in November -- the largest drop since 2011."