: 1226006581

Realtor Diane Grancaric has learned to expect lowball offers. It’s been almost a year since an offer to buy a home matched the asking price.

“People have come in with offers about 20 percent less than the asking price,” she said.

The same scenario is playing out all across the borough, according to a recent analysis by Prudential Douglas Elliman.

By all substantial indicators, the borough’s real estate market has stumbled, though not fully crashed. The numbers create a laundry list of figures showing Queens is not immune to the nation’s economic ills.

Median sales prices are down 11 percent.

Average sales prices are down 9 percent.

Numbers of sales are down 35 percent.

You get the idea.

Throw into the mix new figures by PropertyShark.com, which show the number of foreclosures in Queens doubling over the last year and you’ve created a toxic mix for sellers.

Most experts sighed in exasperation when asked for the cause. They said it’s a mix of a tightened credit market, changing of the guard in the White House, a whacked out supply-demand ratio and economic uncertainty.

“There was an over-supply before all of this even started,” Anthony Carollo, president of Queens-base Carollo Realty, said. “We were just getting through that supply and now the credit market slumps, creating another problem.

“You’ve got to remember what has recently happened: there’s too much inventory and low demand; fuel has gone up; the financial crisis; the coming election; and the stock market crash.”

Homes are now staying on the market nine days longer, according the Prudential’s report, reflecting buyers’ growing difficulty in finding willing lenders.

“There are some banks hoarding money and waiting to see what happens,” William Green said. The Senior Equity Consultant at Franklin First Financial Bank believes lenders that used to freely give money out are now leery of borrowers. And rightfully so.

“After all, consumers did take out loans they ultimately could not afford,” Green said.

While banks clutch their purses, the economic climate itself doesn’t offer much hope.

“This is the most nervous and uneasy climate I’ve seen, ever,” Seth Kramer, president of Cambridge Home Capital, said.

“There is a smaller segment of potential buyers,” Kramer said. “They’re not even sure they’ll have a job for the term of the mortgage.”

Yet there is some hope gleaned from the numbers. Median condominium prices have increased 4 percent, rising to an average of $481 dollars per square foot, with Astoria and Long Island City’s newest developments leading the pack.

South and Central Queens have taken a steep drop overall, with sales dropping over 35 percent in both. But some contend this is a market correction, not a shocking drop.

“Three or four years ago, prices were unrealistic,” Gancaric said. “This is the market coming back down to earth.”

But no one is willing to characterize the landing as a crash. Instead, they believe the current uncertainty will play out slowly.

“Once the stabilization happens in the housing markets, then I think you’ll start to see prices go up again,” Kramer said.

Until then, the best advice they offer is to buy if you can.

“Always try to work it out with borrower,” Carollo said. “You always make your money back in real estate.”