The Naples News has this report on another failed condo project. "In a sign of the times, the for-sale sign has come down at Intermezzo, a luxury waterfront community in Naples. The developer, Phil McCabe, has closed the sales center and temporarily suspended sales at the mid-rise condominium, saying he will wait for the market to improve before opening his arms to buyers again."

"'It was just my judgment that the market was too much in turmoil for me to proceed at this time,' said McCabe. 'It's the market. The market has totally collapsed.'"

"He's returned deposits worth about $40 million. That was for 20 units. 'My goal was to get 50 units under reservation to go full-speed ahead, 100 miles an hour,' McCabe said. 'We obviously didn't achieve that.'"

"In March and April, the Naples market continued to soften, and so did demand, McCabe said. 'I am most concerned about the future,' he said. 'It's a major real estate correction going on.'"

"Following a national trend, there has been a shift in the Naples market. Home sales have slowed, listings have grown and investor interest in buying real estate has waned. In February, existing single-family home sales in the Naples metro area dropped 47 percent from the same month a year ago."

"McCabe considers the waterfront location superior, however. 'It is not the case that there are buyers not wanting to buy there because of the location,' he said. 'It's because there are simply no buyers period.'"

"Ross McIntosh, a Naples land broker, said he wouldn't be surprised to see more condominium developers following in McCabe's footsteps in Collier and Lee counties. He said condominium builders are pulling the plug on projects in other markets, such as Miami and Las Vegas, because of changing conditions in the real estate market nationwide."

"High-rise and mid-rise developers have to put up entire buildings at once, making financing trickier, especially when demand isn't that strong, he said. 'In this coming year, we will see further announcements or further evidence of projects not going forward,' McIntosh said. 'Some people are not going to make a big announcement. They are just going to quietly crawl away with their tail between their legs.'"

"He expects to see projects fail and be taken over by their lenders or investors. 'Heads will roll,' McIntosh said."