The Providence Journal reports from Rhode Island. "Rhode Island’s housing market continued to weaken in October, with prices showing double-digit declines from a year ago. The median price of a condominium in October was $225,000, down 12.2 percent from October of last year, according to The Warren Group. Condo prices in the state have now declined for three straight months."

"Prices of single-family houses also fell, albeit less sharply. In October, the median price of a single-family house in the state was $262,500, a decrease of 4.2 percent from October of last year."

"'Our figures continue to show sluggishness throughout the Rhode Island housing market,' a news release quotes CEO Timothy Warren Jr., as saying."

"The nationwide slowdown in the housing market has recently weakened demand for condominiums, Warren said. But as the market weakened, he said, 'the effects of gravity finally caught up with them.'"

"Rhode Island’s housing market has held up better than the market in Massachusetts, where the median price of a single-family house in October was $312,000, down 6.87 percent from October of last year. The median price of a condo in October was $261,750, down 4.82 percent from the same month last year."

"'You never know where the bottom of the market is,' Warren said, 'until you’re at the bottom.'"

"Home sales fell in three of Rhode Island’s five counties in October, with Newport’s 32.9 percent drop being the steepest. All five counties experienced price declines, with Newport falling by the biggest margin (11.7 percent) and Bristol by the smallest (1.7 percent). Unit sales now have dropped by double-digit percentages in four straight months and six of the last 10 months."

From New Hampshire Public Radio. "Over the next few years, people will start to see a mix of affordable and upscale housing with prices rangeing from 140 thousand to over 400 thousand dollars. Close to 900 units are proposed. About half of them have been approved."

"Real estate veteran Paul LaFlamme says developers want to cash in on the national demand for urban housing."

"Some observers wonder if the demand exists for all these housing projects. Michael Swack, dean of Southern New Hampshire University’s economic development department, questions if home buyers will think downtown Nashua has enough cultural and social amenities."

"'It’s speculative. The markets can change. We’ve seen that in different places, real estate markets can go up and down,' he said. 'One of the risks they’re taking is the type of units. When you talk about New Hampshire, people generally still prefer single family homes. It’s not like living in New York or Boston.'"

The Boston Globe. "Citing a soft real estate market and increased construction costs, a major Salem real estate developer disclosed last week that it had scrapped plans to redevelop a downtown block as an $80 million residential and retail development."

"Lynn Duncan, director of planning and community development in Salem, said the economy would shape any future development of the property. 'The market always has a lot to do with this; the market right now is not as strong,' Duncan said."

"Julianna Tache of Tache Real Estate, said condo prices in Salem had dropped between 5 and 10 percent over the last year. Currently, there are 208 condos listed for sale in the city, at an average listing price of $303,752, and staying on the market for 153 days."

"The glut of condos and the competitive interest rates favor buyers, Tache said, adding that the market would improve only when the condos on the market are sold. 'To turn this market around at this point, some of the supply has to be bought,' she said."

"A provider of Massachusetts foreclosure data released its November 2006 report today, revealing that foreclosure filings in Massachusetts are shattering previous records. The report shows that 2,188 foreclosures were initiated statewide during the month of October 2006, 111% more than October 2005 and 219% above 2004 levels."

"'2006 has been a very unhappy year for thousands of Massachusetts homeowners, we are seeing a massive increase in foreclosure filings,' said Jeremy Shapiro, president of ForeclosuresMass.com. 'By October 31st of 2006 every county in Massachusetts already had more foreclosure filings than the entire 2005 calendar year.'"

"October 2006 saw over 70 foreclosure filings per day (including weekends and holidays) and nearly 110 every business day. 11,493 foreclosures were filed for the entire year in 2005. So, with 2 months to go in the year we have already eclipsed 2005 totals by 3,640."