Condominiums, increasingly the single-family home alternative for buyers in Southeastern Massachusetts, may finally be losing momentum in a softening real estate market.

Condo sales in the area declined 36 percent in the third quarter, compared with sales results for the same quarter in 2005 according to figures provided by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

Statewide, the drop in the number of condominium sales exceeded that of single family homes for the second straight month according to The Warren Group, ending a decade-long trend in which condo sales outperformed single family home sales virtually every month.

"For a long time, as real estate was appreciating, condos trailed somewhat behind single-family homes," said Terry Egan, editor in charge of publications for the Warren Group, publishers of Banker and Tradesman. "As sales began to decline, condos also seemed to trail somewhat timewise. Now they seem to have caught up." Market watchers said a large number of newly-completed condos arriving on the market at a time when sales are already depressed added to an already bulging inventory.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said statewide condominium sales declined 17.6 percent in October compared with 2005, compared with a 16.5 percent drop for single-family homes. However, both Massachusetts real estate monitoring groups cited reasons for hopefulness about a turnaround in home sales.

"It appears as though the market correction may be about over," said David Wluka, president of MAR. "Prices have stabilized in the single family market and probably aren't far from the bottom for condos."

Wluka said the overall supply of single-family homes and condos for sale decreased 6 percent in October compared with the previous month and median selling prices for detached single-family homes remained unchanged.

Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren Jr. was slightly more pessimistic.

"The October numbers continue the trend we've been seeing for some time now - a pronounced slowdown that's affecting every facet of the housing market," he said. "While we expect the market to stabilize sometime in 2007, it appears as though the housing sector is undergoing a significant correction."