Worcester condo sales fell 15 percent and the median price dropped 8.6 percent during the first three quarters of 2007. Only eight units have been sold at the 37-unit University Park Lofts in Worcester, even though marketing started nearly a year ago.

Condo sales in Massachusetts fell 6.4 percent during the third quarter, posting the worst third quarter for unit sales in five years.

A total of 7,602 condos were sold in July, August and September, down from 8,121 during the same months last year, according to a report released today by The Warren Group. The Warren Group is the parent company of Banker & Tradesman.

The third-quarter median condo price slipped 1 percent to $272,500 from $275,000 a year ago, but condo prices for the year have been harder hit. The median price for condos sold statewide for the first three quarters in 2007 is $270,000, down nearly 3 percent from a year earlier.

“The condo market is mirroring what you see in the single-family market,” said Peter Ruffini, president of the Plymouth and South Shore Association of Realtors.

Demand for condos throughout the state increased in the last several years as home prices escalated. Buyers priced out of the single-family home market often turned to condos as a more affordable alternative. But that demand ultimately fueled an increase in condo prices. The median selling price for condos jumped from $149,262 in 2000 to $278,379 in 2005, an 86.5 percent increase. Last year’s condo price, $275,000, was slightly lower.

Statewide, third-quarter sales climbed from 2002 through 2005, before declining last year. This year’s third-quarter sales were the lowest since 2002, when 7,308 units sold.

Some pockets of the state are experiencing more drastic declines.

In Worcester County, for example, sales through September plummeted 28 percent, while the median selling price declined 4 percent to $193,000 from a year ago.

Jeff Taylor, a Realtor with ERA Key Realty Services in Worcester, said would-be condo buyers may now be shopping for single-family homes because home prices have declined.

“Overall, market prices have come down a little. People who could only afford to buy something at $200,000 now can purchase a single-family home, where maybe before they couldn’t,” said Taylor.

In Worcester, 850 condos sold in the first three quarters, a 15 percent decline from a year earlier. The median condo price dropped 8.6 percent $214,689 from $235,000 in that time.

Part of the challenge in Worcester is that there is substantial supply of condos for sale, according to Taylor, who has been marketing a 37-unit loft complex known as University Park Lofts since last November. Prices at the complex start at $130,000. Only eight units have been sold, and Taylor said he received two purchase offers last week.

“It really is a phenomenal time for the buyers to do something,” said Taylor, noting the choices and prices that are available. “A lot of buyers are sitting on the sidelines expecting prices to go down more.”

There were 457 condos listed for sale in Worcester as of last Wednesday, about the same as a year ago, according to Worcester broker Jeffrey W. Hall.

Hall said the majority of the units available for sale are priced between $200,000 and $250,000. But it’s taking longer to sell those higher-priced units. The average days on market for condos in that price range is 212 days, or seven months. That’s up from 208 days last year.

In contrast, condos priced between $100,000 and $150,000 are taking an average of 179 days, or six months to sell, down from 189 days a year earlier.

“There are inconsistencies in the marketplace that would indicate people are buying in the lower price range,” said Hall, a broker with RE/MAX Advantage 1 and vice president of the Worcester Regional Association of Realtors.

However, Hall said some sellers are sticking to asking prices that are too high. “If sellers continue to overprice for the market, that [trend] is extending marketing times, and it creates fewer sales because buyers don’t want to lose. When they know that prices are too high Â… they just won’t make offers on a property,” he said.

‘Price Pressure’

While Worcester’s condo market is struggling, Boston is weathering the slump better.

Ultra-luxury condo sales in downtown Boston jumped during the first three quarters. A total of 305 condos with price tags over $1 million sold in downtown Boston, nearly 15 percent more than the same three quarters in 2006. Of those condos sold, 86, or 28 percent, were priced over $2 million.

“In the immediate market, the very high end is very strong because there’s a limited supply in the preeminent locations,” said Jon Gollinger, chief executive officer of the East Coast division of Accelarated Marketing Partners, a national real estate and consulting firm.

Gollinger said during a downturn there is a “flight to quality,” so core markets such as Boston will be stronger than outlying markets.

“When there’s price pressure, the best product sells first,” said Gollinger.

He added, “This market will penalize secondary and tertiary markets and imperfections.”

Overall, condos sales in downtown Boston declined. A total of 1,726 condos sold in downtown Boston during the first three quarters, a 12 percent decline from a year ago, but the median selling price climbed 5.6 percent to $500,000 from $473,500 in 2006.

Gollinger said the downturn is unlike the slump experienced in the 1990s when there was a liquidity crisis and an oversupply of new condos. “Because of the saturation and liquidity crisis, Boston ran into trouble,” he said.

Now, there isn’t a glut of new condos on the market, said Gollinger. “There’s no saturation of product. There’s no emergency. There’s always urgency but we’re not looking at a crisis here in Boston,” he said.

Gollinger added, “I think Â… that the standing inventory will be absorbed over time in an orderly fashion with continued pressure. I don’t see this market turning around for another two years but I don’t see prices falling through the floor, either.”

However, some do foresee problems in upcoming years because of the large number of luxury condo units that are in the pipeline in Boston. Large mixed-use projects with high-end condos are planned in the Back Bay, Fort Point Channel area and Fan Pier.

“I just don’t see where the absorption can come from,” Gollinger said

In contrast to Boston, condo sales and prices on the South Shore saw bigger declines. A total of 974 condos were sold during the first three quarters in Plymouth County, a 19 percent drop from a year earlier. The median condo price fell 6.8 percent to $244,950.

New condo developments on the South Shore have added to the overall supply. Much of the new development has been targeted to those 55 and over, according to local brokers.

“In Plymouth, over the past three to five years there’s been a great influx of age-restricted condo options that just weren’t there before,” said Ruffini, a principal of Plymouth-based Options 153, Mullen & Partners.

In some parts of Plymouth County, condo developers are resorting to renting units because they can’t sell them.

“It’s not widespread but your chances of seeing something like that in this market are increased,” said Ruffini.

Activity recently has picked up, according to Ruffini, and the number of for-sale condos is going down. Ruffini noted there are 187 condos listed for sale in Plymouth, which is down from about 250 in the summer months.