The Boca Raton News has this update on Florida. "Sales of existing single-family homes noticeably declined in January in Boca Raton and other parts of Palm Beach County—the sharpest drop since February 1997. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, only 586 homes were sold in the Boca-West Palm Beach area during the month. The number represented a 39 percent drop from January 2005, when 957 homes were sold."

"The slowdown has also affected the local condominium market, with FAR officials reporting that condo sales dropped 32 percent in January."

"Boca realtor Richard Bass remarked that the lack of home sales does not come as a surprise to him. 'This trend has been taking place for awhile,' Bass said. 'It’s a new part of the real estate cycle that we’re going through for the past three years. Many investors are leaving the market these days because of the slow appreciation, resulting in a lot more houses to choose from,' Bass said"

"Palm Beach homes additionally experienced a median home price of $393,700 for January, representing a nine percent jump from $361,800 this time last year. Statistics point out, though, that Palm Beach home prices went down slightly from $408,200 in December, marking the first time that the median cost slipped below $400,000 since July."

"Palm Beach is not the only county to feel the wrath of the real estate cycle, according to FAR reports. In Broward, home sales dropped 36 percent for January while Miami-Dade experienced a sale decline of 28 percent. Total statewide home sales were only 12,815 in January—a 19 percent decrease when compared to 15,745 homes sold a year ago during the same month."