The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "Condominium prices in downtown Boston declined 6.9 percent in the three months ending Sept. 30, the second consecutive quarter in which slumping sales drove prices down. The median condominium price was $419,000, down from $449,950 in the third quarter of 2005, according to Link."

"The median price was nearly 11 percent below the condo market's price peak of $470,000, which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2005. The number of condos sold fell 19.7 percent. Prices declined in 8 of the 12 central city neighborhoods tracked by Link."

"The market correction comes as developers continue to plan and build condo projects in Boston. In the third quarter, there were 1,554 condos on the market, less than five months' supply. 'What's remarkable is, yes, sales are off,' but price declines are 'marginal,' said Debra Taylor Blair, president of Listing Information Network. 'We're not looking at 20 percent price declines,' she said."

"Larissa Duzhansky, a New England economist, predicted prices will not rebound until 2008 because housing has become increasingly unaffordable. In Boston last year, personal incomes increased at a 4.7 percent average annual rate, failing to keep pace with a 9.5 percent housing price increase."

"'Even if they're dropping, they're still high,' said Duzhansky."

The Easton Journal from Massachusetts. "Homes in MetroWest are staying on the market on average as much as five months longer than a year ago as buyers sift through the inventory and wait for price reductions."

"That's a normal pattern during a market correction, said the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, and shouldn't ruffle sellers who had planned on making a move months ago. After all, these sellers, who increasingly are reducing their asking prices, also are, or will be, buyers."

"They buy another place and are then on the other side of the marketplace, checking out what's available and hoping to negotiate a lower price."

"And now's the time to buy for the long-term. 'Many potential home buyers who have been taking a wait-and-see attitude or taking their time and being methodical in the search process are being enticed by lower home prices,' said the NAR's David Lereah."

"Eleven MetroWest communities saw sales drop last month, compared to a year ago. And the median price dropped in 10 of the 16 towns. In Ashland, the median sale price dropped 14 percent from September of last year. Sales in Framingham dropped by 35 percent, the median sale price dropped just 4 percent. The average days on the market for a home in Holliston increased 400 percent."

The News Times Live from Connecticut. "While housing prices in the United States are spiraling downward, those in the Danbury area are in what might be considered a slow glide, one that's been long overdue. 'What we're seeing is an adjustment,' said Terry Mercede, manager of Prudential Connecticut Realty in Danbury."

"While real estate agents said they're seeing prices decline about 5 percent, they're not surprised or even upset. What's happening here, they said, is simply a long overdue change in the market. Prices have been rising for at least 7 to 8 years, many local real estate agents said. Normally, such cycles only last about 5 years."

"(Broker) Cathy Masi in Newtown, said she thinks it's been more like a 15-year upward swing. 'I've lived here since 1963 and been in real estate since 1965,' Masi said. 'This is the longest upswing I can remember.'"

"'We got spoiled,' said Realtor Sal Pandolfi of Danbury."

"What this created was a surplus of housing stock, although builders were completing new homes, people weren't buying them. Masi said that while sales are declining, active listings with the Connecticut MLS for Fairfield County are now up 26 percent."

From WTNH in Connecticut. "The housing bubble is deflating nationwide. What was a sellers market has become a buyer's advantage. That's especially true when it comes to new construction."

"When you're talking about new homes the numbers aren't good for builders anywhere. A brand new four-bedroom house in Bristol has been on the market since it was finished being built in September of 2005."

"'We expected this to be gone after the third person saw it,' says Carrie Cameron of Cameron Builders. 'With all the bells and whistles in here this should've been gone a long time ago.'"

"She says plenty of people have been through, many more than once, but no one's made an acceptable offer. And this price of this house has recently been reduced by $50,000 to under $500,000. 'The market has switched from a seller's market to a buyer's market,' said Linda Baumgarten, director of the Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association."

"Baumgarten says potential buyers are waiting longer and waiting for a better deal. And that means houses like this are taking longer to sell and for much less than a builder anticipated. 'The chances of you making money as a builder is right up there with winning the lottery, so you have to be very careful when you do that,' Baumgarten said."

"The Camerons are waiting before they build on the other lot they own in this neighborhood. They don't want to start on a new project while they're still paying for heat, electricity, and taxes here. 'It's never ending until it sells,' Cameron said. 'We're paying for it with an empty house. Nobody's living here.'"