President Barack Obama has said he hopes his economic stimulus package can ease its way through Congress and boost the US economy.

The new White House incumbent has been wooing Republican members on Capitol Hill to seek their support for the $825 billion (£577 billion) programme of public spending and tax cuts.

Speaking about the prospects of passing the new plan, Mr Obama commented: "I don’t expect 100 per cent agreement from my Republican colleagues, but I do hope that we can all put politics aside and do the American people’s business."

Should the measure be passed and be successful in boosting the US economy, it may help improve the state of the California property market.

Those looking to buy California property could find that now is a good time to pick up a bargain ahead of any recovery.

The median price for an existing home in the state fell by 41.5 per cent to $281,100 in the year to December 2008, the California Association of Realtors revealed this week.