Ken Johnson, the real estate agent who was hired by the city to help the family relocate, said finding a comparable place for the Bugryns is difficult, given the changes in the market.

"We're actively looking for a home for them," said Johnson, owner of A Buyer's Market agency. But he said in the current market conditions, multiple offers are common and can torpedo a buyer's chances.

"Property values are much higher than they were in the year 2000," Johnson said. "The cold reality is ..to find something comparable is going to cost them quite a lot more than what their house was worth in the year 2000."

Frank Bugryn, the eldest of the siblings living on the Middle Street property, built his ranch-style home at 269 Middle St. decades ago.

Though the city took possession more than two years ago, Bugryn still lives there with his wife and grown son.

They're looking in earnest to find a new place, but it is proving difficult.

Bugryn will get about $110,000 from the city for his former home, including some interest.

According to Johnson, there isn't a suitable house available for the same amount now.

A $110,000 house "would be inadequate for their needs," Johnson said.

Bugryn said he saw a nice house in Plainville similar to his, but said the $230,000 asking price far exceeded what the city is paying him for his old place.

"I can't do what the city did," said Bugryn, and pick a spot and make the occupants leave.

Bugryn put an offer on one house, Johnson said, but was second in line.

"That house is probably gone," Johnson said.

Johnson said he's enjoyed getting to know the Bugryns.

"I stay away from the politics," Johnson said. The whole eminent-domain ordeal has been an "extremely sensitive and emotional ride" for the elderly siblings, Johnson said.

"He's trying to help," Bugryn said. "He said the market is rough. It's a seller's market."

Bugryn, who turns 81 in December, has certain needs for his next home. He wants a house, not an apartment, and he doesn't want a lot of stairs that might make it difficult for him to get around.

"I'd rather have a ranch like I have," he said. "That's why I built my own, to live here until I die. But it didn't work out that way."

Bugryn's sister Nellie Filipetti lives on the ground floor in the family farmhouse next door at 299 Middle St. and another sister, Mary Dudko and her husband, Michael, live upstairs in the farmhouse with the Dudkos' adult son. Another brother, John Bugryn, lived in the basement at 299 Middle St. but moved to a nursing home not long ago when he could no longer care for himself.

"We've already made arrangements to have his things moved," Johnson said.

Frank Bugryn said his sisters still want to stay in the old farmhouse the siblings were raised in and don't want to live away from each other.

"They would like to stay there," he said. "They hate to part."

But Johnson said Filipetti found a place.

"She'll be moving soon," Johnson said.

He said he hasn't heard from the Dudkos lately, and he's worried that if they don't make use of his services soon that the city will stop making them available.

Jonathan Rosenthal, the city's economic development director, said that at some point, the city will no longer offer relocation assistance if it is not being used.

Though a judge determined a compromise price on Frank Bugryn's former house, the city and the family are still in court on the price of the old family farmhouse and the land around it.