The Nashua Telegraph has this update from New Hampshire. "Maggie Decker put her two-bedroom, garden-style condominium on the market in February for $149,900. She has lowered the price $8,400, has offered to pay closing costs and even threw in a warranty. Six months later, her Knightsbridge Arms condo still hasn’t sold."

"'Last year, you could have pretty much named your price,' said Decker, of Nashua. 'This year, the number of houses and condos on the market is ridiculous.'"

"In Greater Nashua, 923 homes were sold between Jan. 1 and May 31. This year’s numbers are down compared with the 1,045 Greater Nashua homes sold during the same time last year, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors."

"What this means is that sellers have to aggressively market their homes, local real estate agents say. 'The problem sellers face.. they still think their home is in a market where it’s going to sell in the first two or three weeks,' said agent Ben Mercuri."

"It’s good news for home buyers. These days, there’s more negotiating going on. 'What’s moving is the more affordable properties,' (realtor) MaryBeth Gustitus said. 'What that tells us is our buyers are shopping on value, and they’re taking longer to do it.'"

"With higher rates, buyers can afford less, and it goes back to buying the value house, Gustitus said. So if sellers want to move their property, they have to lower prices."

"Another reason is lower demand for new housing and an overabundance of supply. As a result, buyers feel a lot more confident with the purchases they do make, Mercuri said. 'It doesn’t have to be spontaneous,' he said."

"(Broker) Brian Moses in Nashua, classified the market as normal. 'It’s not a depression or a bubble,' he said. 'We’ve really been tremendously spoiled over the years and the real estate market has been robust with double-digit increases. I don’t’ think it’s any reason for anyone to hit the panic button.'"

"Gustitus’ advice for sellers is to understand where their house fits in with the market. On the whole, she said the reality of prices is starting to sink in with sellers. 'They’ve had six years of them seeing their neighbors sell at full price. That became a normal market for them. The problem is, that’s not a normal market. That was the perfect storm.'"

"Meanwhile, Nashua’s Maggie Decker is hoping she finds a buyer, and soon. She and her husband are looking forward to moving into the house they’ve already purchased in Rindge. But first, they have to sell their Knightsbridge condo."

"'The agents said it showed beautifully, but there was just so much on the market and our timing was just a little bit off,' Decker said, adding that the condo would have been sold already this time last year. 'It’s emotionally wrenching.'"