Southern California housing prices will fall, some experts say. The question is how much

Rising mortgage rates have slowed the housing market across the nation and Southern California. Sales are down, inventory is rising and many prospective buyers and sellers have a simple question: Will home prices fall?

According to some analysts, the prospect is growing more likely as the slowdown deepens, with some now adjusting their forecasts to call for price declines next year.

Such predictions mark a shift from earlier this year, when there was greater expert agreement that rising mortgage rates would simply slow price appreciation. That is: Prices would keep climbing but less than they had in the last two years.