The News Times reports from Connecticut. "The median prices of both single-family homes and condominiums in Connecticut declined in October, the first time in nearly a decade that both have declined in the same month. 'We looked at the state prices for the third quarter of the year, and prices declined by 2.29 percent,' said Norman Krayem, president of the Connecticut Association of Realtors. 'That's very, very good.'"

"The Warren Group reported that the median price of a single-family home in Connecticut fell from $271,500 to $265,000. At the same time, the median price of a condominium in the state dropped from $192,000 to $190,000."

"In Fairfield County, the median price of a single-family home declined only about 1 percent, however, the number of homes sold in the county declined 18.7 percent."

"In Litchfield County, the median price of a single-family home declined 8.41 percent, from $267,500 to $245,000. The number of homes sold in the county declined by 17.28 percent."

"Krayem of the Connecticut Board of Realtors said the market grew too pricey. People were shying away from buying, while a big inventory of homes available for sale built up. 'The prices were outstripping the ability of people to buy homes,' he said. 'Especially the first-time buyer. They're crucial to the market.'"

"Sellers have had to realize that they can't expect to get the prices they might have received a year ago. 'Sellers have gotten the message,' said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group.. 'They've had to adjust.'"

"'The buyers are now seeing a better selection of homes at better prices,' said Matt Rose, a Realtor in Danbury. 'It's a good situation in two ways for them.'"

From The Day. "Housing sales in New London County fell nearly 19 percent during October and skidded more than 33 percent in nearby Windham County, according to the Warren Group."

"In Windham County, sales fell 33.1 percent and the median price of housing dropped from $212,950 in October 2005 to $203,000. New London County's condominium market also lost steam during October, with sales falling 55.4 percent."

The Times Union from New York. "Hugh Johnson is upbeat about the economy, to a point. The local investment adviser says housing woes could send the economy into a funk if oil prices soar again. 'That's the big risk this economy faces,' he said."

"Johnson said the housing market is in a 'revulsion' stage, in which prices decline and speculators sell. This followed a period of speculation in which as many as one-fourth of the homes purchased in the United States were bought for investment purposes. 'That's speculation,' he said. 'The hope, the dream, the fantasy.'"

"New York was hurt less by the housing bubble than places like Boston and California, he said. Parts of upstate New York such as Rochester and Buffalo are still struggling to create jobs. 'It's a disaster,' he said."

"'It costs too much to do business in New York state, and somebody has to do something about it,' he said."

The Concord Monitor reports from New Hampshire. "The number of people in Merrimack County losing their homes to foreclosure has gone up nearly 60 percent in the past year. According to credit and mortgage counselors, homeowners who signed up in recent years for adjustable-rate and interest-only mortgages, hoping to refinance when their rates increased, are having a hard time making their payments."

"The sluggish real estate market had made it harder for homeowners to draw equity from their property or sell to recover debt. 'Some people are apparently experiencing, for lack of a better word, payment shock,' said Dean Christon, executive director of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority."

"Last year, there were 56 foreclosures in Merrimack County. So far this year, there have been 89, an increase of 58.9 percent. In Concord, that number went from six foreclosures in 2005 to 16 this year."

"Forty of this year's foreclosures were on homes financed with adjustable rate mortgages that started in 2002 or later, Register of Deeds Kathi Guay said. 'Those people that got a great interest rate to begin with, now that the interest rates have changed, have run into a problem,' she said."

"Kerry York, of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Hampshire and Vermont, said the increase in foreclosures can be attributed to many factors. Many of the people serviced by his agency have reached their limit on several credit cards and are facing high interest rates on those, York said. The cost of gas and home heating fuel is going up. And then their mortgage rate adjusts and their payments get bigger."

"'What was a problem six or eight months ago is now a huge problem,' he said. 'Income doesn't go up - not at that rate.'"

"James Kenney runs a website aimed at people who want to invest in foreclosed properties. He said the market for them is good. 'Since there have been so many foreclosures lately, the banks aren't really in the business of real estate, so they want to get rid of the properties quickly,' he said."

"According to his records, 418 foreclosures were posted in October, an increase of 214 percent over October 2005."