Southern California real state cooling, a little

The median Southern California home price — the point at which half of all properties sold for more, half for less — appears to be flattening out according to the LATimes.

Nonetheless, very expensive Ventura County real estate is set to sizzle again, according to other reports. "It's going to be a pretty good year for people in Ventura County," said economist Bill Watkins, executive director of the forecast project. "The economy is on an upswing, no doubt."

Traffic; however, was cited as a serious problem for Ventura - not only current traffic, but the anticipated growth in traffic. (more on this story)

Though prices remain high, houses in Southern California aren't selling quite as fast as they used to. "Sales are strong, but not at a peak, and price increases are slowing down, especially in the markets that took off first back in 1998 and 1999," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president in a release yesterday. (More on this from CNNMoney)