The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "Massachusetts house prices held steady in March, putting an end to the monthly price declines that have plagued sellers since last April. However, March sales fell, by 2.8 percent for houses and by 1.4 percent for condos, though the magnitude of those declines was smaller than in prior months."

"(Agent) Gary Dwyer said more people are coming out this spring intending to buy because prices are more attractive. During the peak of the housing boom in 2004 and 2005, first-time home buyers in particular were put off by bidding wars and by properties that were too expensive or in poor shape for the price."

"'Sellers are pricing a lot closer to what market value is, lower,' he said."

"Real estate agents and economists said it's premature to declare a full turnaround. Foreclosure filings by lenders against homeowners behind on their mortgage payments continue to soar. The number of auctions advertised for foreclosure sales more than doubled. In the first quarter, Warren Group said, there were 3,118 auctions, compared with 1,069 a year ago."

The Boston Herald. "Massachusetts home sales have fallen for the second straight month, following a January rebound, making it unclear whether the market is truly bottoming out."

"'There are some hopeful signs here, but I would be very much reluctant to say that we’re out of the woods,' said Terry Egan of market tracker the Warren Group, which yesterday reported the market weakened in March."

"Egan said yesterday that just 4,239 Bay State houses changed hands last month, down 5 percent from year-ago levels. Median house-sale prices likewise have fallen 1.59 percent to $314,900 since March 2006."

"The condo sector fared even worse, with sales volume down 8.72 percent and median prices dropping 2.68 percent to $267,625."

"MAR also said the length of time houses take to sell hit a new record high. The group said houses changing hands in March needed 158 days on average to find buyers. That figure is up from 142 days in March 2006 and it’s the worst level ever seen in the two years MAR has tracked such data."

The Telegram from Massachusetts. "The Warren Group showed condominium sales dropping 3.7 percent statewide, and condominium prices falling 3.3 percent, from $274,000 in 2006 to $265,000 for the most recent quarter."

"Condominium sales in Central Massachusetts were down 26 percent for the quarter to 465 from 632 in the first three months of 2006, and the median condominium price in Central Massachusetts fell nearly 12 percent for the quarter to $190,000 from $215,000 a year ago, the Realtors association said."

"'What they’re showing is that the market is a little more stable than what we saw in 2006,' said Terence Egan, for The Warren Group. 'It’s still slumping, but with far less volatility than what we were tracking for all of last year. I wouldn’t characterize it as a balanced market. It’s still a buyer’s market, and we may see more of that.'"

"The first quarter also saw petitions to foreclose rise nearly 80 percent in Massachusetts. Advertisements for foreclosure auctions also spiked 191.7 percent compared with the first quarter of 2006, The Warren Group reported. Mortgage lenders filed 6,395 petitions to foreclose in Massachusetts Land Court from January through March, compared with 3,556 during the same period in 2006, and 3,130 in 2005."

"He said that many homeowners entered the market at a time when loans were easily obtained, and are now finding it difficult to keep up with payments as rates adjust upward. 'The way the numbers are tracking, the worst is yet to come,' Mr. Egan said."

"'What we’re showing is that auction notices are up by nearly 200 percent,' Mr. Eagan said. 'What that’s telling us is that the escape hatch is closing. It’s difficult to sell, especially if the home is not worth what it was purchased for.'"

"Massachusetts foreclosure filings spiked by 47 percent in March as many local home owners struggled to make monthly mortgage payments, a new report said."

"ForeclosuresMass.com said there were 2,190 filings in the Bay State last month, compared with 1,492 for March 2006. March 2007 was the 6th consecutive month with more than 2,000 Massachusetts foreclosure filings, the firm said."

"'It is clear that tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents are trapped in properties they can no longer afford,' said president Jeremy Shapiro. 'They can't keep up with mortgage payments that are too high.'"

"Shapiro added, 'With no substantial market turnaround in sight, we expect Massachusetts foreclosure rates to continue at record or near-record levels for months to come.'"

"For the first quarter of 2007, Massachusetts foreclosure filings rose 76 percent to 6,624, compared with the first quarter of 2006, Shapiro noted."

The Providence Journal from Rhode Island. "Rhode Island’s home foreclosure rate last year was the highest in New England and exceeded the national average, according to data released yesterday."

"Nearly 6 out of every 1,000 mortgages in Rhode Island were in the process of foreclosure during the fourth-quarter, the highest in at least 20 years, according to a recent analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston of data from the Mortgage Bankers’ Association. Rhode Island’s overall foreclosure rate was slightly higher than Massachusetts."

"Foreclosures were even higher, nearly 4 out of every 100 mortgages, for high-cost, or subprime loans made to Rhode Island borrowers with poor credit."

"And the pace is expected to continue to climb. Interest rates on risky adjustable rate mortgages, or ARM loans, made to borrowers with poor credit usually ratchet up, meaning that defaults on those mortgages have yet to hit their peak, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s senior research associate, Julia E. Reade."

"In Rhode Island, the rise in home foreclosures follows one of the nation’s biggest run-up in house prices. Price appreciation has since leveled off and, more recently declined slightly, making it harder for borrowers who had grown accustomed to 'cashing out' their home equity to refinance."

"'We haven’t seen the worst of it yet,' said the Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association’s Jerome D. Margulies. Margulies said he recently shuttered his own mortgage company after 22 years. 'We have a major hurdle we’re not over yet.'"