The MetroWest Daily News reports from Massachusetts. "For Realtors, it was the slowest, or, at least, ,more relaxed,' summer in a decade. Single-family home sales plunged 23.4 percent during the July-to-September quarter, further shifting the market to the buyer's side as prices continued to soften."

"Condo sales also dropped sharply over the summer, sliding 22.3 percent compared to a year ago. The report yesterday from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors shows the housing slowdown continuing for a sixth consecutive quarter."

"'The more relaxed sales pace during the third quarter is the result of a waiting game buyers and sellers have been engaged in over the past year,' said David Wluka, the association's president. Buyers are waiting to see if prices will go lower, while sellers are still reluctant to reduce what they're asking for."

"Selling prices fell 'modestly' over the summer, dropping 4.9 percent in the single-family market and 2.5 percent in the condo market."

The Boston Herald. "The Massachusetts housing market’s downturn is accelerating, with sales volume plunging at the fastest pace since 1990 and prices dropping at their steepest rate in 13 years, new figures show. 'We’re still in a slide,' Chief Economist John Bitner of Boston-based Eastern Bank said."

The Telegram. "A continuing slowdown in the state’s housing market has pushed Central Massachusetts sales down more than 25 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 30 from the same period a year ago, while the median selling price for this part of the state dipped almost 4.5 percent to $290,000. It was the lowest summer sales quarter since 1995."

"Housing sales dropped the most in the southeast portion of the state, down 40.4 percent, while the northeast saw the biggest drop in selling price, off 6.1 percent. Condominium sales fell the sharpest on Cape Cod and the southeast portion of the state, with declines of 33.8 and 36.1 percent, respectively."

"Some, like William and Kim M. Repa of Southbridge, pulled their home off the market after being unable to sell. The Ripas put their home on the market in October 2005 for $249,000, when the housing market seemed stable, Ms. Ripa said."

"'We actually dropped it $10,000 and the agent offered to give money back from her commission. We had an offer, but they wanted us to move out right away,' she said. 'They got nervous about the time frame and backed out,' she said."

"'We decided to take it off the market and put it on in the spring,' Ms. Ripa said. 'We’ll do some cosmetic work. The house is paid off, so it’s not like we have to move.'"

"Carol Allard Vancil, the agent who worked with the Ripas, said another seller she worked with in Sturbridge had a house on the market for $440,000 in the spring, then dropped the price to $399,000. After another six weeks, the sellers lowered the asking price to $374,000, and got an offer for $30,000 less, even though the property was assessed at $400,000."

"'People look at the assessed value, but that’s not what sets the price. It’s the buyers,' she said. 'Houses are selling, but the price has to be right. It’s not 'location, location, location' anymore but 'price, price, price.'"

The Boston Globe. "Many empty nesters are being forced to wait for a real estate market upturn, agents and developers said. Falling sales of single-families in Massachusetts have produced a glut of houses for sale, enough to last 13 months."

"'There's a lot of reevaluation going on,' said Mark Lippolt, executive VP of one of the state's biggest agencies. 'The reason is a slowdown in the market.'"

"'I can't tell you how many times I've heard this story,' said (Broker) Paul Turcotte. 'All these people in the suburbs want to move into the city, but they're hung up because houses are staying on the market so long.'"

"Denise and Patrick Famolare got their deposit back on a condo at Spicket Commons. The Famolares had hoped downsizing from their four-bedroom, four-bath town house along the Saugus River to a two-bedroom condo would cut their mortgage payment by $800 a month."

"They had one buyer for their home, listed last December for $419,000, but he withdrew his offer days before the spring closing. Before they pulled the house off the market recently, the asking price was $329,000. 'No reasonable offer will be refused,' she said."