A housing report from the Tallahasse Democrat in Florida. "It's almost becoming cliche, of late, to say 'real estate market downturn.' However, sales numbers for July released this week by the Florida Association of Realtors continues to confirm the slowdown in sales of existing homes. The glut of more than 2,600 single family homes listed for sale in Tallahassee has forced sellers to lower their prices, another trend exposed by the July numbers."

"Local Realtors expect sellers to continue to drop their prices as the market continues to favor buyers."

From the Ledger. "Maybe it was the heat. Home permits dropped sharply in July and Polk County's jobless rate ticked upward. Local builders pulled 409 permits for new home construction last month, a drop of 56 percent from 932 permits in July 2005. It was the largest year-to-year percentage decrease since The Ledger began keeping records in 1994."

"Polk also had 462 existing homes sold in July, down more than 24 percent from the previous year. Sales were down about 25 percent in both Lakeland and East Polk. Buyers are becoming more educated and, because of the economic market, they are waiting for prices to adjust, said Richard Castret, a Realtor (in) Lakeland."

"'Obviously when you look at general economic conditions, we've reached the peak of activity,' Economist Gordon Kettle said."

The News Press. "The sales price and number of homes sold in Lee County tanked in July. A house sold with the assistance of a Realtor dropped 8 percent to $264,600 from $287,500 a year ago, and the number of homes sold dropped 32 percent from 1,026 to 694."

"Those buying homes now are often getting deep discounts. Real estate agent Christa Brooks' client Roger Lolly closed recently on a Gulf-access canal-front condo in Cape Coral for $189,000, $60,000 less than its assessed value."

"'There are some sporadic sales, but boy, you have to have an outstanding piece of property. Never mind marketing; price is what talks right now,' Brooks said."

The St Petersburg Times. "Educators across Florida are scratching their heads over a new phenomenon: Far fewer students than expected are showing up for school. After more than a decade of rapid growth, school enrollment slowed last year. Educators thought the dip was an aberration, but early indications show enrollment growth has slowed again this year, even in traditionally high-growth areas of the state. Enrollment is down by thousands of students in Miami-Dade, Duval and Broward counties."

"William Person, who oversees Hillsborough’s student enrollment, said it’s too soon to say exactly why the numbers are off, but he has some theories. 'Generally speaking, the housing market has cooled,' he said. 'You’ve seen increases in property values in what was moderate housing,' he said. 'Now the average home is $250,000. For many families who move into this area, to purchase a single family home that is $200,000 to $250,000 is prohibitive.'"

"In nearby Palm Beach County, enrollment slowed to a crawl last year. The district expected 5,000 new students but ended up with only 400."

The Sun Sentinel. "When it comes to South Florida's pillow-soft housing market, certain real estate agents and industry professionals are fed up. The market's downturn is pitting agents against the analysts, with the media caught in the middle."

"From 2000 to 2005, agents made gobs of money when homes sold quickly. But now fewer homes are selling and prices are falling, causing agents to, well, shoot the messengers."

"One reader this week criticized Mark Zandi, saying the chief economist for Economy.com 'has been attacking real estate in every newspaper in the country.'"

"The same reader finds fault with Deerfield Beach housing analyst Jack McCabe. 'The analysts … didn't build all these buildings,' McCabe said. 'We did not finance the buildings. We did not speculate on the buildings. All we have done is count the numbers and report our findings.'"

"Bill Hardin, director of real estate programs at Florida International University in Miami, said few people complained about media coverage of the souped-up South Florida housing market during the past five years. 'Losing hurts more than winning feels good,' Hardin said. 'In today's market, people are feeling that they're not getting the return they thought they would get, and that sense of loss is magnified.'"