Local real estate sales are slumping along with a statewide trend as buyers appear to be taking a breather after the breakneck pace of 2005.

Sales of single-family homes declined 27 percent in the Taunton-Attleboro area in January, compared with the same month in 2005, according to figures compiled by the North Bristol County Association of Realtors.

Sales of multifamily dwellings also fell, while condo sales actually improved.

`` It's been very quiet,'' said Agnes Fountas of Agnes Fountas Realty in Attleboro.

Fountas said she's still hearing from people shopping for property, but buyers are reluctant to pull the trigger on a deal. `` People aren't making offers like they used to,'' she said.

Bob Cassidy of Bob Cassidy Real Estate also said sales have slowed.

`` We're getting calls, but not necessarily the ones we want,'' he said.

Cassidy said that while mortgage interest rates remain near historic lows, other factors may have had a hand in depressing sales.

`` The economy, and a 39 percent approval rating for the president haven't helped,'' Cassidy said.

Joan DaCosta, with the North Bristol County Association of Realtors, said the decline in sales parallels a statewide slump.

Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported a 21 percent decline in statewide sales of single family houses.

In the Attleboro-Taunton area, sales for the month declined to 25 single family homes, from 33 last year. There was a corresponding drop in sales volume, to $8.3 million from $11.4 million.

Sales of multi-family housing dropped to about $2 million from $6.1 million.

Condominium sales rose to $1.9 million, up from $893,000. DaCosta ascribed the slowdown to economic uncertainty.

`` The people who can afford it are buying,'' she said. `` But there are a lot of people right on the line, and they're worried.''

But Ed Pariseau Jr of Century 21 Ed Pariseau Real Estate countered that there are `` plenty of buyers'' and that sales at his agency have been steady.

If sales results look anemic, he said, it's probably because of comparison with last year's record pace.

`` Things were slow the first two weeks of January, probably due to the holidays,'' he said. `` But sales picked up in the second half.''

Pariseau said fundamentals for housing sales remain strong, particularly with mortgage rates hovering around 6 percent.

That's higher than the rock-bottom 5 percent or 5.25 percent last year, but still low in historic terms.

Appreciation in the price of existing homes, meanwhile, also has slowed.

An increase in the state's inventory of unsold homes helped limit price increases, with the statewide median selling price for single-family homes essentially unchanged from a year ago at $345,500 in January, according to the state association.

The median price declined 2.4 percent compared with December, when the amount was $354,000.

The median condo price in January rose 1.9 percent from a year ago to $270,000, but it was a 1.8 percent decline from December of 2005.

`` Buyers were faced with higher mortgage rates, increased inventory levels and bold predictions of major price corrections last fall, prompting many to postpone their home search until after the first of the year,'' said David Wluka, president of the state association.

But Wluka said a short-term turnaround appears to be under way.

`` We've seen a measurable increase in buyer traffic over the past several weeks, however, due to the mild weather, a drop in mortgage rates, and more realistic pricing on the part of home sellers,'' he said.