The Boston Herald. "Massachusetts is facing what looks like its worst autumn real estate market since 1996, with no clear signs that prices are bottoming out. 'I think we still have some more to go on the downside,' economist John Bitner of Boston-based Eastern Bank said yesterday after the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported housing’s weakest September in a decade."

"MAR said just 3,435 Massachusetts houses changed hands last month, a 23.9 percent plunge from September 2005 and the lowest September volume since 1996. The group also said the median house fetched $341,000, down 5.3 percent from a year earlier and 9 percent below the market’s $375,000 August 2005 peak."

"The condo market recorded an even sharper slowdown, with the number of units changing hands declining 27.8 percent, the biggest annual drop since April 1995."

"At the same time, the number of unsold houses and condos listed for sale hit 63,956. That’s up 14 percent from year-ago levels, and trails only April, May, June and August as the highest unsold inventory on record. 'The larger selection of homes to choose from, combined with the extra time it now takes to sell a home, should keep downward pressure on prices for the next several months,' MAR President David Wluka said."

"Tim Warren of market-tracker The Warren Group said a 'market correction is taking hold, and we expect it to continue into 2007.' Warren yesterday reported that third-quarter Massachusetts house sales posted their steepest quarterly drop since 1987."

"Bitner said he expects Massachusetts prices to fall another 4 percent or so going forward. Bitner said the Bay State lacks two key ingredients needed for a housing turnaround: population growth and a local economy that’s expanding more quickly than the national average. 'We don’t have the wind behind us of a rising population, nor do we have a stronger-than-average economy,' he said."

The Milford Daily News. "'Buyers are driving hard bargains, and owners who have to sell are being forced to lower their prices,' said Tim Warren."

"'Today's market reflects the more relaxed, even guarded, approach adopted by many buyers who are waiting to see if prices have bottomed out,' said David Wluka. 'Sellers also have become more cautious, with many opting to delay their home search until they've reached agreement on the sale of their own home.'"

The Worcester Telegram. "In Worcester County, home sales slid 24.63 percent, to 2,084 units sold in the third quarter this year, while the county’s median sales price fell a little more than 9 percent, to $256,574, said The Warren Group. Condominium sales in Worcester County dropped 17.3 percent, to 763 units, while the median sale price fell 17.3 percent, to $201,500."

"Terry Egan, editor of Banker & Tradesman, said the softening market is a correction that will likely extend into the next year. Massachusetts saw a decade of record housing appreciation before the market slowed early this year."

"'That’s not peering into a crystal ball,' he said. 'We’re extrapolating numbers that we’ve extracted so far. That’s what the statistics are showing us. It’s accelerating rather than receding. We don’t expect it to end in the near future.'"

"The largest percentage drop in sales was in Nantucket County, down nearly 57 percent. The county, which comprises only the island community of Nantucket, the smallest market of the state’s 14 counties, had 80 home sales in the third quarter of 2005 and 35 in the same time period this year, according to The Warren Group."

"The second-highest sales drop was in Suffolk County, down 34.4 percent. 'You are seeing some regional variances in numbers,' Mr. Egan said. 'Overall, we’re seeing some market corrections across the board in Massachusetts to varying degrees. Some areas are seeing home sales and prices dip to greater extent, where the run-up was greatest, around Metro Boston, especially."

"Mr. Egan said the recession in the early part of the decade was mitigated by a robust housing market. The question now is whether the strong economy will help pull the housing market out of its downturn, he said."

"'During the first part of this decade, housing was the bulwark of the economy, and kept the recession short and mild,' he said. 'The question is if a strong economy can keep the housing market correction shallow. If the job market remains strong, incomes remain strong and stable, more than likely, this will remain a correction rather than something deeper.'"

The Boston Globe. "Wluka said buyers, sensing an opportunity, are 'negotiating hard.' One of his clients looking at condos in various projects 'wanted to know the selling price of every condo sold in the past two years' in each project. 'I gave it to him,' he said."

"Real estate specialists said the market can't fully rebound until the excess supply of homes is reduced, a process that could take months or years."