The Daily News reports from Massachusetts. "Home builders in MetroWest are re-evaluating the real estate market now that housing prices are decreasing, adjusting marketing tactics and even delaying construction to wait out the cycle. The inventory is increasing because prices are too high, said Laurie Cadigan in Concord, who is president of the Greater Boston Association of Realtors."

"'It takes sellers about six months to catch up to buyers’ expectations,' Cadigan said. 'Sellers looking to sell at last year’s prices aren’t going to be happy.'"

"Framingham Acquisition LLC changed plans for its 290-unit Arcade project in downtown Framingham because the condo market softened, according to Michael Gatlin, an attorney for the developer. The original plans called for condos to be built in the building but the units were later changed to apartments."

"'When you do any kind of project like this, you have to justify it to your lender, the prices you’re getting for the units,' Gatlin said. The developers 'found that there were some condo prices that were soft and it seemed like a difficult market to justify to a lender.'"

"Toll Brothers Inc. is building an over-55 development in Marlborough, called the Regency at Assabet Ridge. The developer is using a different approach to moving its homes: getting them on the market as soon as possible, according to Jason Witham."

"Builders creating more homes for the market are creating even more supply, according to Terry Egan, editor-in-chief of the Warren Group. 'Any new home built that comes on the market right now is facing a lot of competition,' Egan said. Not only from other new homes but from an expansive supply of existing homes for sale."

"'Right now, buyers have clout that they haven’t had for a long time in Massachusetts. They’re driving hard bargains, and it’s something developers are aware of,' he said."

"Lumber yards that supply home builders have also been affected by an increasing supply of homes and downward pressure on home prices. The cost of lumber has declined $35 per 1,000 square feet of board according to David Lamson, chairman of Lamson R.S. & Sons of Hudson. He said it's because developers aren't building as many new homes."

"'They are not building as much, and they don't have the demand,' Lamson said. 'There's a glut of houses on the market right now, and all our builders are cutting their prices for the houses to move them. Most every builder has got houses in inventory.'"

"Lumber sales have declined about 15 percent to 20 percent in the Northeast, and particularly in Massachusetts this year, he said."

From the Record in New Jersey. "It’s a lesson home sellers are learning all over North Jersey. The fizz has gone out of the real estate market, both nationally and in North Jersey."

"For sellers, all this adds up to one question: How to sell in a buyers’ market? The first answer is probably the most painful: Price it realistically. Just because your neighbor got $600,000 a year ago doesn’t mean you’re going to get $650,000 — or even $600,000."

"'A lot of sellers haven’t accepted reality,' said (agent) Nick Tselepis in Clifton."

"Nilsa and Edwin Santiago have heard the message, and cut the asking price on their three-bedroom home in the Lakeview section of Paterson. They first listed it in January at $359,900; now it’s listed for $329,900."

"Although the Santiagos got offers for the house last winter, the best one was for $306,000, well below what they were willing to accept. 'I guess people don’t want to buy houses now,' said Nilsa Santiago. She speculated that would-be buyers are scared off by high prices and the fear that house values will continue to fall."

The Journal News in New York. "A sharply higher number of people in the Lower Hudson Valley this year are finding themselves so far behind in their mortgage payments that they face the loss of their homes. For the first three quarters of this year, compared to the first three quarters of 2005, Westchester actions are up by 21.7 percent, Rockland are up by 49 percent, and Putnam's are up by 24.9 percent, according to county clerks' records."

"Industry observers say they're not surprised at the trend. Adjustable-rate mortgages that were used by consumers several years ago to buy houses are starting to lock in at higher rates this year."

"Matthew Ziccardi, a White Plains real estate attorney, said some adjustables can call for new rates of prime plus 2 to 5 percentage points. With prime currently around 8 percent, a borrower who took out a mortgage with an introductory rate of 5 percent or 6 percent interest can now be looking at rates of 13 percent or more, Ziccardi said."

"'Equity is a problem now,' Ziccardi said. Some sellers who took out interest-only mortgages have no equity in the property; 'They might as well just rent the house,' he said."

"Attorney Jessica Bacal of White Plains said she expects the problem to worsen in the year ahead. 'During periods of inflated values on real estate, many people obtain mortgages that they are unable to meet,' she said."

"About five months ago she represented a buyer for a house in the area. The closing nearly didn't go through, she said, because the seller had trouble raising enough cash to cover closing costs. The seller had to make good on the mortgage, plus a home equity loan, plus a third private loan, 'so he was already in trouble,' Bacal said."