Golden State real estate agents are saying that the market there has leveled out and they think it will pick up next year, reports the Los Angeles Times. This could be good news for the local real estate industry because so many of our sales start out with a home being sold in California to fund the new purchase here (with a little left for the retirement account).

Home sales have held steady at an annual rate of about 450,000 units, according to data from the California Assn. of Realtors. It’s a 25 percent drop from the record pace of the previous year or two but the fact it’s been at that level for six months bodes well, analysts tell the paper. And if sales stay stable in California, ir could put a floor under our market.

There’s evidence the Southern Nevada market is stabilizing. New figures in this week’s Business Press show that there’s still 20,000 homes on the market but prices are holding up pretty well. November’s median price ticked up 3 percent and they’re still more than 10 percent above the level they were last November.