Joseph Novella, a local developer, says that Danbury "is awash in corporate transferees."

Others include corporate transferees, who do not plan to stay long, and the affluent, who are not as concerned with the fluctuations in the interest rate.

"It was something that I didn't even think about when we started looking," Mrs. Slater said, referring to homes being sold by corporate transferees.

Winning the enthusiasm of a broker may be more critical in in this market because they are the key to finding corporate transferees.

The usual influx of corporate transferees has dwindled with the contraction of corporations but has not completely dried up.

And corporate transferees will probably have been made whole by their company.

One particular problem for the suburban sellers is that fewer corporate transferees have been coming to the area.

Mr. Clark said that many of today's buyers tended to be corporate transferees rather than employees of Princeton University.

In Westchester, where one stereotypical renter is the corporate transferee requiring a large home, the market has been affected by national corporate downsizing, local brokers say.

Particularly at the high end, where large homes rent for $3,000 to $7,000 a month, Mr. Ragetté said, "There are fewer corporate transferees looking for them."