The Daytona Beach News Journal has this from Florida. "Skittish investors, leery of the air seeping out of the housing bubble, have left at least one area home builder awash with completed homes and no buyers in sight. Holiday Builders, the 30th largest builder in the nation, is hoping to turn the situation around by selling homes at what the company says are 'builder's cost' this weekend."

"The company is staging a special sales event in an attempt to sell about 40 new homes that had been ordered by investors. Consumers should be prepared to put down $5,000 and close on the property in 45 days. Changes in the market, including rising interest rates and an abundance of inventory, apparently caused some buyers who hoped to profit from the boom in area housing prices to walk away from the idea."

"'We found ourselves in a unique situation,' Jennifer Youngblood, a spokeswoman for the builder said. 'This is the first time that we have done something like this.'"

"'Charles Rinek, president of the Flagler/Palm Coast Home Builders Association, said he has heard of similar situations in which buyers forfeited their deposits and walked away from contracts. 'I don't know how widespread it is,' said Rinek."

"Most investors look for a quick turnaround, he said. The general slowdown in the market in recent months is an indicator they won't be able to proceed as planned."

"Kevin Kronk, president of the Volusia Home Builders Association, said there are pockets of excess inventory in parts of the state, he said. But, the problem is more likely to be found in large cities such as Miami and even Orlando, especially in condo developments."

And the Wall Street Journal has this report on Naples. "The vacation-home market certainly has changed since I dove into it not that long ago. On Aug. 30, 2004 I wound up making an offer on a second home in Naples, Fla. Buyer mania was so strong that I drove from the airport to my first walk-through inspection of the home in the furious rain and whipping winds of Hurricane Jeanne; at one point, I raced my rental car past a palm tree leaning over the road at an alarming angle and watched in my rear-view mirror as it crashed to the ground. I felt pressure to close the sale quickly."

"But there are clear signs that the tide is turning in Naples. Inventory levels now are four times as high as they were a year ago, largely because nervous investors are trying to cash out their gains before rising mortgage interest rates topple the market. 'Big price reduction' ads are starting to pop up in the thick weekly real-estate sections of the Naples Daily News."

"So, vacation-home buyers, take heed: The days when you could flip a beach house or ski place for fun and profit are probably over."