The Wall Street Journal has this report on flippers. "Home sales have been slowing for several months, but real-estate agents in some of these formerly red-hot markets have been surprised at how suddenly market conditions have deteriorated in the past few months. But for cities like Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Phoenix and San Diego, the dropoff in sales and rising supply of homes on the market could soon put downward pressure on prices."

"Todd Linsley, a 37-year-old investor, bought a three-bedroom house in Stuart, Fla., for about $318,000 in late 2005. His original plan was to quickly flip the property by selling it for as high as $425,000. But when he saw that the market was turning, he decided to list the home for $379,900. It's been on the market since early January with no takers."

"Mr. Linsley says home builders keep discounting unsold houses in the neighborhood, sometimes axing as much as $100,000 off the original asking price. He says he can't afford to go that low. So now he's renting his investment house out for $1,000 a month, while paying a $2,045 monthly mortgage and a $108 monthly homeowner's association fee. 'My Plan B was always to rent it out. I am not going to lose my shirt,' says Mr. Linsley."

"Some Floridians blame the media and even Wall Street for scaring people away. Mr. Linsley recalled a headline in a local paper declaring that the local housing market was overvalued. The headline type was so bold that it looked as if the nation had just declared war. 'The media is killing the investors,' Mr. Linsley says."

"'Things have slowed to a crawl,' says Mike Morgan, a broker in Stuart, Fla. Mr. Morgan says that 'we went three days this week with not a single showing. That's incredible. I have 35 listings. We usually get 2-6 showings a day....I received more desperate calls from sellers than ever. One lady broke down into tears. Her husband bought two investment properties, and they are now going to lose their 'life savings' if they sell the homes in today's market.'"