The colorful Victorian houses on Hyde and Broadway streets in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. 

California real estate was poised to pick up during what’s normally the busy spring season, but experts suggested the market could slow with significant hurdles ahead.

Mortgage rates dipped to their lowest level in three years at the end of February at just under 6%, only to tick back up to around 6.3% last week. That may seem like a minor shift, but it’s part of a “huge amount of volatility,” largely driven by the conflict in Iran that’s pushing more economic instability, Chen Zhao, the head of economics research at Redfin, told SFGATE.

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It’s led to higher gas prices, and some customers are now rethinking some home purchases. 

“Nothing affects consumer sentiment like gas........

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