The Atlanta Journal Constitution has this report on the housing bubble in the Florida panhandle. "Panama City Beach looks like a beach boom town with high-class intentions. Construction cranes sprout from the sand like enormous sea oats. More than 20 new high-rise condo towers already are open. More are under construction."

"Almost as quickly as Panama City Beach's boom began, it hit a trough. Several developers have put plans on hold in this Florida Panhandle town, some after starting construction, waiting for better times. Condo prices have, hold onto your beach umbrella, stagnated or even dipped. Much of Panama City Beach is for sale."

"Real estate agents say there is a backlog of over 2,200 of beach condo units on the market. Median prices for condos sold in Bay County slid 12 percent in the first part of this year, compared with 2005, according to the county property appraiser's office. The crunch comes even as 1,400 new condo units are expected to be completed by year's end."

"Real estate agents turned again and again to the same pool of investors, especially those from metro Atlanta and Birmingham. 'It became a feeding frenzy,' says Jeanie Zepponi, a Destin-based real estate agent. 'They drove it up to a point where it could not continue to rise at that speed. It was beginning to become unrealistic. Some of these investors just got greedy,' she says. 'They were putting in reservations on four or five different projects, knowing they didn't have the wherewithal to close it.'"

"With sales prices soaring, many investors couldn't make enough renting out the units to cover a condo's monthly mortgage. Some investors began walking away from down payments rather than closing. Others completed the purchase even as they continued to seek someone to buy the unit. Few owners live in the units. Property owners have applied for homestead tax exemptions on only about 2 percent of the area's new condo units, says Mel Leonard, Panama City Beach's director of building and planning."

"If the number of pre-construction investors walking away from projects increases, it could put a real hurt on developers, says Leonard. 'That seems like a ticking time bomb.'"

"Real estate agents in the Panama City Beach area say some banks are putting fresh limits on pre-construction sales in hopes of avoiding investors' becoming overextended. Projects have been halted. Motels or other businesses that were closed after they were sold to make way for development sit vacant."

"Says Janet Roan, a local real estate agent, 'Now is the time to buy. It's a buyer's market.' But she offers a caveat. 'If you are looking to buy something to flip it, don't even try it right now.'"

"Zepponi advises condo owners to avoid putting their units on the market now if they can avoid it. 'If people would stop this panic, things would turn around sooner,' she says."