The price must be right

The house has one unusual feature: It is situated at the back of the lot, so the expanse of yard is in the front. But it could be any large house in a groomed Boston suburb. It has 3,250 square feet, a sunroom, fireplace, second-floor balcony, updated kitchen, and finished basement, shiny hardwood floors, and an elegant built-in hutch. It's in "pristine" condition, its sales listing said.

The problem, said Glenna Gelineau, a Waltham real estate agent who has watched the tortuous history of the house, was that its initial list price was too high. When the real estate market began falling, it never caught up. It was first listed for $849,000, at a time when the sales market was still strong. Despite 15 downward price adjustments, the house apparently never hit the right number.