Housing

It’s no secret that the United States is one of the most mobile countries in the world. A 2013 Gallup survey found that nearly one in four Americans reported moving to a new city in the past five years. Most move for employment reasons – when opportunity knocks in America, people tend to pack first and ask questions later.

California real estate, the ne plus ultra of a rapidly rebounding U.S. housing market, appears to be taking a breather this summer. Reports by research firms DataQuick and Trulia both point to slowing price growth and falling sales in the Golden State as buyers balk at bidding wars and bully offers. The slowdown is showing up everywhere from LA to Orange County to Sacramento.

Rising mortgage rates and higher prices appear to be taking a bite out of home sales in the West, according to Redfin, the real estate website. Redfin’s latest data show February home sales falling 13.4 percent in the West year-over-year, the biggest annual decline of any region in the country.

Of the 11 West Coast markets tracked by Redfin, nearly all posted fewer sales from the same time last year, with Las Vegas leading the way lower, down 22.7 percent from a year earlier. Other sales laggards include Sacramento, down 21.8 percent, and Ventura, California, down 20.8 percent.