The Massachusetts realtors have their quarterly numbers out. "Prices for single-family homes in Massachusetts declined slightly in the first quarter, the first such drop in more than a decade. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports the median selling price for a single-family home from January through March fell by about 1 percent, to $343,500.'

"The group said that that's the state's first quarterly decline in single-family home prices since early 1993."

"In the first three months of the year, MAR data show that detached single-family homes sales fell 6.5 percent, from 8,604 homes sold in the first quarter of 2005 to 8,047 in the same period this year. It's the fourth consecutive quarter that activity in the detached single-family home market has declined from the same period one year earlier."

"'With a much wider selection of homes to choose from this year, buyers have become more discriminating. They're searching the market longer and negotiating harder before purchasing,' MAR President David Wluka said. 'With a much wider selection of homes to choose from this year, buyers have become more discriminating. They're searching the market longer and negotiating harder before purchasing,' Wluka said."

"Another factor enticing buyers into the market in recent months is the more plentiful supply of homes for sale. In the past year, the inventory of single-family properties (detached homes and condos) on the market has risen 42 percent, from a monthly average of 38,871 listings in the first quarter last year to 55,338 in the first quarter of 2006."

"At the current sales pace this represents 13.7 months of supply, an increase from 9.2 months of supply in the first quarter last year, and is the largest supply of homes for sale in 10 years, dating back to the winter of 1996 when there was 14 months of supply on the market."

From the associations PDF file, single home sales in the following regions were down; Cape Cod -19.1 %, Central -11.4%, Northeast -6.2%. Median prices of single family homes in the following regions; Central -1.1%, Greater Boston -1.3% and Northeast -1.6%.

"A more moderate sales pace, along with softening home prices and a sharp increase in the inventory of unsold homes, all helped to signal the emergence of a strong buyer’s market in the Bay State’s residential real estate market during the first quarter of 2006. Regionally, sales activity in the detached single-family home market fell in six of seven regions of the state during the first quarter."

"Sales were essentially flat on the South Coast, but more significant double-digit declines occurred in Worcester County and Cape Cod."