Dot-com: Hot CA Housing Markets Cooling

Several hot California housing markets are finally cooling down as price appreciation slows and defaults rise, according to an online seller of foreclosed property.Foreclosures.com says Sacramento, which led the nation in home price appreciation early in the year, recorded price appreciation of only 1.4% in May, while prices fell 3.2% in San Francisco. "We're coming to the end of the seller's market cycle in the housing markets," said Alexis McGee, president of Foreclosures.com. "The price peak in this cycle was pushed up by record low interest rates, and I believe we're seeing the end of that cycle as well." New notices of default and trustee sales in Sacramento edged up to 21.3 per day in May and June, she said. The Fair Oaks, Calif.-based company also said New York City is "an isolated pocket of recession," noting its 8.1% unemployment rate vis-a-vis the national average of 6.4% and the average rate of less than 4% in contiguous counties. The company can be found online at http://www.foreclosures.com.