The Boston Globe reports on the latest Warren Group numbers. "Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts declined in July at the sharpest rate for a single month since 1995, and condominium sales dropped off at the fastest pace since 2003, according to a report released Tuesday by a firm that tracks real estate transactions."

"Single-family home sales dropped nearly 27 percent and condo sales fell 23.5 percent, offering fresh evidence that the state's housing slump isn't about to end soon."

"'We're not pressing the panic button yet, but we are watching the trend lines very closely,' said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of the Boston-based publisher of regional real estate and financial data."

"The decline was the state's biggest in percentage terms since a 29.6 percent drop in April 1995, according to the group, which began tracking sales data in the 1980s. Single-family home sales have now declined for seven straight months measured against comparable months a year earlier, and for 17 of the last 18 months dating to February 2005. Condo unit sales have fallen each month since April."

"In New Hampshire, a dip in property sales is being felt in the state's bankbook. State Revenue Commissioner Phil Blatsos told the Senate's tax writing committee Tuesday that receipts from property sales so far this month are running about ten percent below what lawmakers forecast when they wrote the state budget last year."

"He said the state could end the year with 13 to 21 million dollars less than it counted on."

And from the New York Times. "In the calmer market that has taken hold, brokers for sellers and buyers say that negotiation is slowly creeping back into the equation. The two sides are beginning to talk, if not to each other, then through their brokers."

"'We’re certainly not where we were in the irrational, exuberant days,' said JoAnne Kennedy, the COO of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy. 'Sellers have become more realistic, and buyers are finding they have more time to select, and they can make an offer that’s not asking price, and it will be considered.'"

"Because so many sellers in this changing Manhattan market have overpriced their apartments, Miller Samuel appraisal company president Jonathan Miller said, negotiability can be expected to continue to rise until listing prices fall in line with current market conditions."

"So now, it would seem, is the time for all parties to brush up on the finer points of negotiating."

"Ms. Kennedy said that sellers are often happy to get any bid, but a buyer who submits a very low offer and then engages a seller in several rounds of counteroffers risks losing the apartment."

"Another lesson buyers must always keep in mind is who is working for whom. Buyers often forget that while a seller’s broker may be their intermediary in a deal, the broker’s first allegiance is to the seller. Renee LePore, an agent ain New Rochelle, N.Y., recalled a recent negotiation in which she knew both how high a buyer was willing to go and how low the seller would go, and she used that knowledge to the seller’s advantage."

"The buyer offered $380,000 on a house listed at $435,000, but told Ms. LePore that $400,000 was her limit. The seller rejected the bid and told Ms. LePore she could go as low as $390,000. When the buyer offered $390,000, Ms. LePore urged her to go higher, even though she knew the $390,000 would have been accepted. The house eventually sold for $400,000. 'I was working for the sellers, and my job was to get the best price,' Ms. LePore said."

"Buyers, especially first-timers, often feel manipulated and pressured by the negotiating process. And why not? Brokers, after all, are salespeople. 'The one with the owner was a much more positive experience because we were dealing face to face with them,' Alex Cass said. 'But in the other one, we felt like our broker and the seller’s broker were playing off one another just to get us to pay more.'"

"Jessica Krnc was even more suspicious. 'I think they set us up,' she said."

"Author Neil J. Binder said buyers have every right to be wary. 'A seller’s broker’s duty is to get the best price for the seller, and if I’m a buyer’s broker, my duty is to deliver a fair deal,' he said. 'Brokers have an agenda, and it’s different from buyers.'"

"A buyer with a long work history, significant liquid assets and the ability to put down more than the typical 10 or 20 percent deposit should play up these attributes, said Deanna Kory, a senior vice president of the Corcoran Group. 'Especially in a co-op, sellers can be willing to take less money if the person has better qualifications and is sure to pass the board,' she said."

"In a new apartment building, developers are increasingly willing to pay transfer taxes, said Dawn Tsien, at Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy. On a $1 million apartment, city and state transfer taxes, plus the state mansion tax (which applies to all units $1 million and higher), come to about $28,000 and would traditionally be paid by the buyers."

"Max Bazerman, a Harvard Business School professor and an author, warned against using brokers as advisers at all. 'The broker’s most important goal is to close the deal, and that’s not necessarily your goal as a buyer or seller because you care more about the quality of the deal,' he said."

"Since brokers are naturally biased, he added, they also should never be told exactly how high or how low you’ll go because they might use that information against you."

"Bazerman had one final piece of advice. 'You should always be able to walk away from a deal,' he said. 'Fall in love with three houses, not just one, because if you have to have it, you’re going to pay for it.'"