CAR Sees 'Modest' Home Price Decline

Home price appreciation will undergo a "modest" decline next year in California, and home sales will fall a projected 7%, according to the California Association of Realtors.In its 2007 California Housing Market Forecast released at the California Realtor Expo in Long Beach, CAR predicted that the median home price in California will decline 2% next year to $550,000. (This year's projected median home price is $561,000.) The forecast calls for sales of 447,500 units, compared with this year's projected total of 481,200, the association said. "The housing market clearly downshifted in 2006 from the record-setting sales and robust price gains of the last few years," said CAR president Vince Malta. He said the 2007 sales decline is not expected to be as steep as this year's. The association can be found online at http://www.car.org.