A new survey on south Floridas' housing bubble. "Softness dating back to the end of the third quarter has continued in the first quarter, the South Florida (Metrostudy) division has reported. The division, which includes Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, said the slowdown was influenced by a number of factors, including buyers' concerns about purchasing homes at the height of the market, as well as investor supply."

"'The increased supply of finished, vacant homes illustrates the slowing market, with 4,141 unoccupied homes, an increase of 57.6 percent compared to 2,627 units one year ago,' said Bradley Hunter."

"Metrostudy said it is also tracking more than 207,000 future lots in subdivisions soon to begin development or in existing communities where new phases of development are about to start. Nearly half of that new supply is in St. Lucie County and more than one-quarter is in Palm Beach County, the company said."

"There are 831 active subdivisions in South Florida and 759 future subdivisions planned for home construction, Metrostudy added."

"The supply of finished, vacant homes in Palm Beach County was only 353 units, but Metrostudy said there were 5,623 units under construction. 'There are 20,000 single-family and multi-family units on the resale market, suggesting that a large number of sellers who are not in brand-new homes are testing the water,' Hunter said."

"With 349 finished, vacant units and 2,515 homes under construction in Broward County, Metrostudy said there is a 13.2-month supply of inventory. Hunter said, 'How long the investor supply will depress absorption will vary greatly by submarket and product type.'"

"In Miami-Dade County, Metrostudy said the 10-month supply of vacant, finished homes and units under construction is slightly high."

From Reuters, "Keys homeowners are also socked with Florida's highest insurance premiums. Citizens Property Insurance proposed a base windstorm rate of $20.91 per $1,000 of insured home value for this year. Key West resident David Lane and his wife recently listed their historic 2,000-square-foot (186-sq-m) home at $1.5 million and plan to head to Asheville, North Carolina. Their windstorm insurance premium: $12,700."

"'If a really bad storm hit here, a big part of the value of our house is the land. What would the land be worth?' David Lane said."

"On Big Pine Key, resident Pam Henry said she is struggling to pay $16,000 a year in property taxes and home insurance, and is moving to central Florida. 'The hurricanes put the icing on the cake,' Henry said."

"'You pay $400,000 for a trailer that's going to be junk soon. It's incredible,' said Jose Cuevas."

The News Press. "Southwest Florida pawn shops have become stop-offs for some residents looking for a few extra bucks to fill their gas tanks. 'The biggest thing right now is gas and real estate taxes,' said Tim Velasco, owner of Gold & Pawn, Fort Myers. 'They’re pawning TVs, VCRs, DVDs to get from Fort Myers to Naples.'"