More on home sales volume during the first quarter, 2007:

A ... report released yesterday by Warren Group, a Boston real estate information and publishing firm, said that median prices fell &8212; 1.6 percent for houses and 2.7 percent for condos. Those declines were also smaller than the price drops in prior months, which Warren Group said indicated "signs of stability" in the housing market.

But 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.

Source: Home prices firm up as buyers emerge - By Kimberly Blanton, The Boston Globe