Sep 20, 2006 4 Major California Home Markets See Drop In Prices (AP) LOS ANGELES A real estate research firm says the median price of a California home increased last month at the slowest annual rate in nine years. Four counties actually saw price declines. Among the largest real estate markets, according to DataQuick Information Systems, the steepest drop was 6.7 percent in San Mateo County. Other decreases were seen in Marin County (2.3 percent), San Diego County (2.2 percent) and Alameda County (1.5 percent). Appreciation in Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties was essentially flat. The...