The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "The housing slump isn't over yet after all. After getting off to a strong start in 2007, home sales in Massachusetts fell 1.7 percent in April compared to the same period last year, and the median home price declined 2.3 percent, to $345,000, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors."

"April's sluggish pace is bad news for home sellers and brokers, who were hoping that robust sales in January and February meant the deep downturn that began last year was at an end. For prospective buyers, however, the data suggest they wield the upper hand during the crucial spring selling season."

"'This is like a retailer having a bad Christmas season,' said Babson College finance professor Richard Bliss. 'It doesn't matter what happens the rest of the year, [because] you're never going to make up what you lost in the peak season.'"

"Michael Ball said he misjudged the market when he purchased a small Cape on the South Shore in July 2005, to renovate and resell. He purchased the worn but charming house when Massachusetts real estate prices were at a peak."

"By the time he finished the work and put the house on the market last October, home sales were in freefall. He dropped the price $35,000, to $635,000, and hired an agent last month after failing to sell it on his own. He said he could not go much lower on price, because of remodeling costs."

"'Everyone who goes in to see it loves it,' said his agent, Maryann Zaccardi. But buyers, 'faced with an abundance of inventory, feel that there's no real need to act quickly.'"

The Sun Chronicle. "Sales fell slightly from a year ago and properties remained on the market longer, according to a report Tuesday by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors."

"While the figures showed a slowing of erosion in the Massachusetts real estate market, local brokers were hard pressed to find silver linings in the flat performance."

"David Joyce of Tri-Town Real Estate in Norton, said...he has yet to see a solid turnaround in home sales. 'Right now, the homes that are selling are the most aggressively priced,' he said."

"Many potential buyers appear to be hanging back and keeping their options open."

"'The housing market continued to trend in a positive direction for the month of April,' said Realtors association President Doug Azarian. 'While the number of detached single-family homes sold was down, the 1.7 percent decrease year-to-year was the lowest we've seen in the month of April for the past three years.'"

The Boston Herald. "The Bay State housing market can’t seem to shake off a spring cold. Market tracker the Warren Group yesterday reported that Massachusetts house sales fell by 1.9 percent in April, when compared with year-earlier levels, the third straight monthly decline."

"Sales have fallen every month since January, when the first gains in two years left brokers hoping the housing bust had finally ended. 'We had some momentum, but now we’ve slipped back a bit,' Warren CEO Tim Warren said."

"Warren added that median house-sale prices dropped to $319,314 last month, down 4.7 percent from April 2006 and 12.3 percent from June 2005’s $364,000 peak."

"Warren blamed the condo and house declines in part on the state’s foreclosure crisis, which has seen record numbers of properties face seizure for mortgage nonpayment. He said lenders advertised 4,833 foreclosure auctions in 2007’s first four months, 'and that’s got to have an impact on the real estate market’s recovery.'"

"Warren previously predicted home prices would bottom out this summer, but now expects declines to continue into fall or winter. 'Buyers are out looking, but it just seems that prices haven’t firmed up,' he said."

"The median price of single-family homes fell for the 12th straight month in April, while sales fell for the third month in a row, according to a report released today by The Warren Group."

"'Prices have been declining steadily as well, but not at the rate seen during a mid-2006, when they declined 8 or 9 percent from year-before numbers. Foreclosures are taking a toll in the housing market at large. Our statistics show more and more homes are coming closer to the auction block, as the distressed homeowners are finding it difficult to sell their homes in this still-slowing market,' said Timothy Warren Jr."

The Gloucester Daily Times. "Pond View Village, a heralded experiment at turning a former industrial site into 124 units of heavily subsidized affordable and market-rate housing, has been unable to sell condos in a glutted market and has defaulted on its main lender."

"Christine Cousineau, the nonprofit’s executive director, told the Times that the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. 'could have foreclosed in December.'"

"'They’ve got financial challenges,' said bank consultant David Sidon, speaking for the Gloucester Investment Corp. 'Property values have come down so much they’ve messed up the original business plan.'"

"The nonprofit, Cousineau said, was depending on the sale of the 41 condo units to create the cash flow needed to keep the project on course."

"More than a year after they went on the market, only eight units, those held below market rates, have been sold. The remaining 33, including 26 at market rates ranging from $229,000 to $359,000, have been taken off the market temporarily."

"But with the condo market in a deep slump, prospects in the foreseeable future are dim, Cousineau said. 'They’re not making offers,' she said. 'There’s so much inventory on the market, so much to compare to.'"

"Further inhibiting sales at Pond View Village was the acquisition in late December 2005 of its next-door neighbor, the city’s largest apartment complex with 272 units. The buyer, Forest Management Properties, quickly converted 92 apartments to condos and flooded the market."

"Cape Ann Housing Opportunity missed the May 1 deadline for paying $40,888 of its $62,351 real estate tax bill to the city, according to a municipal lien certificate. CAHO has also failed to pay off its general contractor, Cutler Associates, which was unable to pay subcontractors."

"James Murphy, attorney for North Shore Construction, said Cape Ann Housing Opportunity stopped paying Cutler, which stopped paying its subcontractors. 'We like working for Cutler, but we also like getting paid.'"