The Massachusetts realtors have the June numbers out. "Home sales in Massachusetts tumbled 16.6 percent in June, while condominium sales declined 14.3 percent, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported in its monthly report today on the state's housing market."

"While sales were down sharply last month, prices barely budged. The median house price, $370,000 in June, is just 1 percent lower than it was a year earlier, while the median condo price, $283,500, is 1.1 percent lower than a year ago. 'Many sellers are being short-sighted right now,' David Wluka, president of the association, said. 'They don't want to admit the market has changed and their home may not be worth as much as before,' he said."

"The problem for sellers, he said, is that with so much unsold inventory on the market, 'There's little urgency on the part of today's buyers to act.'"

"Inventory levels continued to rise for a 16 consecutive month in June, with the number of active listings of single-family properties climbing 10 percent over the past year to 56,494 homes and condos listed for sale this June."

From the associations 'talking points.' "The more moderate sales pace reflects a more cautious approach to home buying on the part of consumers brought on by rising mortgage rates, which have increased a full point over the past year, rising energy prices, and a more plentiful supply of homes for sale, which has enabled buyers to take a more relaxed approach to the home search process."

"The supply of detached single-family homes on the market rose for a 16th consecutive month in June, climbing 7.9 percent over the past year from 35,820 homes for sale in June 2005 to 38,664 this June. Inventory, as stated in months of supply, also rose steadily from 5.9 months last June to 7.6 months of supply in June 2006. A large number of sellers took their homes off the market in the last month however as listings dropped from May when there were 46,019 homes for sale."

"The number of condominiums for sale has increased 16.1 percent in the past year, from 15,362 units last June to 17,830 in June 2006. Similar to the detached home market, condo units are not selling as quickly as they did a year ago. The average listing time for condos has risen by nearly four weeks over the past year from 66 days in June 2005 to 98 days last month."

"The statewide median selling price for condos declined for the second time in the last three months during June. The median price of $283,500 is just 1.5 percent below the record high median selling price of $287,900 set in July 2005."

The Boston Globe. "Foreclosure filings in Massachusetts increased 66 percent in the second quarter, according to data released yesterday, a trend that is expected to continue over the next year. That 66 percent surge in filings compares with a 30 percent rise in first-quarter filings."

"Jeremy Shapiro, the president of ForeclosuresMass, said he was alarmed about the pace of Massachusetts' sharp recent increases. 'The foreclosures in Massachusetts right now are skyrocketing,' he said. '`This is a problem that's going to extend through 2007 and 2008.'"