If you’re trying to sell a pricier home in the Bay State, you’ll need to be patient.

The Warren Group reports today that single-family home sales inched up 2 percent in August compared to the prior year. August was the second straight month that sales volume increased in Massachusetts.

Here’s what’s not in the report: while sales of lower-priced single-family homes helped to prop up the overall numbers, higher-end home sales are dragging.

As I mentioned in a blog post earlier this month, home sales in the lower-end of the market were moving at a faster pace in July than residences with heftier price tags.

If you add August transactions to the mix, single-family homes priced $200,000 to $400,000 shot up almost 10 percent compared to the same months in 2008.

In contrast, homes priced $800,000 and higher tumbled 11 percent.

But if sales volume continues to climb in the lower-end of the real estate market that could trickle up to more upscale properties, as homeowners seeking to trade up are finally able to make a move because they no longer have to worry about selling their starter homes.

Massachusetts housing remains unaffordable despite the price declines seen throughout the state.

That’s Dr. Barry Bluestone’s assessment. Dr. Bluestone, an economist who directs Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, told business leaders at a NAIOP (National Association of Industrial and Office Properties) breakfast recently that without an uptick in new home building, housing prices will escalate beyond the reach of young working families.

For sure, Bay State home prices are significantly lower than they were four years ago. Statewide, median home prices are about 21 percent lower than they were in 2005 when prices peaked.

In Greater Boston, however, where jobs are concentrated, prices have held up a bit better, dropping by only about 16 percent, according to The Warren Group.

And rental rates may be headed upward. According to a story in this week’s Banker & Tradesman, rents in the Boston area are likely to rise because there are few apartment projects in the pipeline. Any concessions, like a free month’s rent, will disappear.

This should be a wake-up call to all those who think the housing market’s current slump has wiped away the state’s housing affordability challenges.

Some good news emerged today about foreclosures in Massachusetts. Fewer properties have been foreclosed on so far this year compared to 2008, according to a new report from The Warren Group.

But before any pronouncements are made that the foreclosure crisis is over, here is something to consider:

Lenders haven’t really slowed down on starting foreclosure proceedings.

In fact, in some Bay State towns, lenders are initiating foreclosures at more than double last year’s rate.

In the small town of Spencer in central Massachusetts, lenders filed triple the number of petitions to foreclose during the first eight months of 2009 compared to the same period last year. (Lenders file petitions to foreclose in Massachusetts Land Court after a borrower misses mortgage payments.)

Natick had 50 foreclosure petitions, more than double the petitions that were filed a year earlier.

North Shore towns like Beverly, Danvers and Gloucester and South Shore communities like Lakeville had twice as many foreclosure petitions as they did in 2008.

Experts predict that rising unemployment will lead to a second wave of foreclosure. In Massachusetts, unemployment has risen for three consecutive months and is now at about 9 percent.

And just yesterday, Equifax reported that mortgage delinquencies crept up nationwide …Foreclosures may be down, but there are thousands of homeowners who are struggling.

The Obama administration is weighing a proposal to extend and expand the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit that Realtors and experts say has helped to boost home sales.

The tax credit, coupled with lower prices, has been vital in bringing a flood of first-time buyers to the market, they say.

If you look at the types of homes that have been trading in Massachusetts, it looks like first-time buyers have helped the market pick up a bit.

For example, July home sales rose 12 percent, and sales in the lower-end of the market — those that first-time buyers would most likely purchase — were driving that increase.

A total of 1,733 single-family homes priced between $250,000 and $400,000 sold in July 2009, up 13 percent from July 2008, according to The Warren Group.

Meanwhile, homes with price tags of $700,000 and higher fell 5 percent in July compared to a year ago

Incentives like this tax credit are effective because they have a deadline and create a sense of urgency. Prospective buyers, knowing that the tax credit is temporary and time is running out, are more likely to hurry and make a decision. If consumers know that lawmakers might extend the credit or even expand it, many may just take the wait and see approach – particularly if they’ve already put off homebuying for a long time.

But as I mentioned in an earlier blog post, it really doesn’t matter how much money the government throws at would-be buyers.

Consumers who have concerns about job security or those who’ve had their paychecks slashed aren’t in a position to make the biggest purchase of their lives.

Ultimately, the key to the long-term health of the housing market will be stronger employment numbers and business growth.

Why would you commit yourself to a loan that you know you can’t really afford?

A special investigation in today’s Banker & Tradesman offers some clues about how and why that could happen.

The report highlights what happened to Latino homebuyers who were misled into mortgages that were way beyond their means.

Some of the buyers were told their mortgage payments would be a certain amount, only to come to the closing table and find out their monthly payments amounted to thousands of dollars more.

So why didn’t they just walk away?

The mortgage brokers, who they trusted, assured them they could refinance the loans at a later time or the brokers threatened to keep the buyers’ hard-earned deposits.

So where was the Massachusetts Division of Banks, which licenses brokers and lenders, during all of this?

According to the special report, the division failed to act on some complaints — or if it did the regulators didn’t take formal enforcement action. (The division only reports on formal punitive actions.) Regulators revoked or suspended less than 3 percent of brokers and lenders between 2007 and June 1, 2009.

In that time, over 24,000 foreclosures have occurred in Massachusetts, according to The Warren Group.

Another local luxury condo property is headed to auction, and the discounts being offered are pretty head-turning.

The Boston Globe reports today that 42 condos at the Natick Collection are being auctioned early next month with minimum bids at about 70 percent below the previous asking prices.

The sleek units were marketed as an upscale alternative for people who wanted city-like conveniences and amenities without the hassles and expensive prices.   

Now, minimum bids for some units are as low as $160,000.

Only 18 units have actually been sold at 10 and 40 Nouvelle Way – the address for the condo development known as Nouvelle at Natick — according to data from The Warren Group.  (The story notes that 37 have been sold or are under contract).

One unit that sold last November fetched almost $1.5 million. According to the Globe, one three-bedroom unit previously listed at $1.1 million has a starting bid of $350,000. That’s quite a deal!

 Auctioneer Jon Gollinger, who described the residences as “rather spectacular”, tells the Globe that most residents living at a property where units will be auctioned react with concern and fear.

 But he’s quoted as saying: “They bought into a vision with a community of homeowners …In the long run, they know the values will come back.”

Probably true, but Mr. Gollinger, I wouldn’t want to be the owner who paid over $1 million for a condo only to have someone else snag a comparable unit for half of that amount a few months later – would you?

 Plus, some owners can’t wait for the long run, especially if they have to relocate because their employment situation changes. Then they’re stuck with a unit that’s worth much less …

Lenders are stepping up the pace of mortgage modifications, according to a recent story in the Patriot Ledger. The article highlights the plight of a Brockton woman who was able to secure a loan modification from GMAC Mortgage within a few weeks.

It’s a hopeful story, and a sharp contrast to the stories that have appeared elsewhere of homeowners who’ve gone through a tortuous experience just trying to get someone at their bank to talk to them.

Clearly thousands of frustrated borrowers haven’t been as lucky as the Brockton homeowner.

They’ve been told to submit and resubmit countless documents; they’ve been shuffled from one department to another; they’ve made repeated calls and left messages that go unanswered; and they’ve been told they’re eligible for a modification only to be rejected after months of waiting.

I attended a meeting of foreclosure researchers in July and experts who were present said banks and mortgage companies are still overwhelmed by the number of requests they receive. One critic charged that lenders are under-staffed and have dragged their feet in hiring and training employees to modify loans.

A well-known economist who studies housing trends said he tried for months to refinance a loan with a large lender he’d done business with for decades. He couldn’t get a response until he threatened to take his business elsewhere.

If he can’t get a lender’s attention for something so routine, I can’t imagine what it’s like for a homeowner who’s in danger of losing his home.  

There have been numerous stories lately about how the housing market is starting to stabilize or recover.

Try telling that to my neighbors who have their homes on the market.

For-sale signs began popping up along the tree-lined street in Jamaica Plain where my home sits around the beginning of June.

Four homes came on the market this summer – including two next door to each other. All of them belong to longtime owners and residents.

One of the homes – a large elegant residence — is on the market for over $1.8 million, while the other homes are more moderately priced.

A few days ago, I was a bit relieve to see that one, a Ranch with a swimming pool in the backyard, had a sale pending sign on it.

But the other homes haven’t had such luck — this despite the fact that the neighborhood is in a desirable location, close to the Longwood Hospital area, Jamaica Pond and Arnold Arboretum and an easy commute to downtown Boston.  

I guess three months or so on the market isn’t such a long time.

But if November rolls around and these homes still haven’t moved, that’s another story.

Where can you find a condo in Massachusetts priced under $100,000?

If I posed that question four or five years ago, few – if any – options would have emerged.

Now, it looks like the median condo price has dipped below $100,000 in several markets: Everett, Marlborough, Brockton, Framingham, Lawrence, Worcester and Mattapan all saw median prices for condos sold through July fall below $100,000.

Everett’s median condo price plunged 59 percent to $86,500 from $212,500 last year, according to The Warren Group. Brockton’s median condo price is off 45 percent, falling to $75,500 from $136,300 last year. In Worcester, the median condo price is down to $80,000. The last time the median was lower was 12 years ago.

It’s clear that the condo market is still hurting, despite all the positive news that filtered through about the housing market last week.

The Warren Group report, for example, noted that single-family home sales increased almost 12 percent in July compared to the same month last year.

But the condo market didn’t get that kind of boost. Instead, condo sales hit their slowest pace for the month of July in nearly a decade.

Tighter lending guidelines for condos by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are making it harder to close condo deals. Borrowers intending to purchase a unit in a new complex will have a hard time unless at least 70 percent of the condos are sold or under contract. And no more than 15 percent of the unit owners in any complex can be behind on their condo fees.

So who’s benefitting from the bargains? Investors and other buyers who are coming to the closing table with cash and don’t have to rely on financing.