The Herald Tribune has this update from Florida. "Back in December 2004, when David Holland paid $315,700 for a new home in an east Venice Centex subdivision, the granite-and-tile beauty looked like an easy flip. But as Centex's sales slowed down, his property turned into a flop."

"Last week, Holland cut his losses. He put his house up for an 'absolute auction,' meaning no minimum and no reserve. He walked away with $255,000, a painful reminder that real properties, like stocks, do not always go up."

"'I knew I would probably lose money,' said Holland. 'But I thought it would sell for at least $300,000. The problem is there aren't any buyers. I think the people coming to auctions today know that, and they are looking for just incredible deals.' That's exactly what they are looking for."

"Auction specialists find their phones ringing almost non-stop from would-be sellers desperate for some action. 'With the current state of the real estate market, sellers see the attractiveness of knowing they will sell it on a given day versus keeping it on the market for months and sometimes years and incurring costs such as taxes, insurance on the home, upkeep and marketing,' said Erica Brown, a spokeswoman for the auctioneers' association."

"Auctioneer Daniel DeCaro found himself turning away so much real estate auction action this summer that he formed a new division to handle it. DeCaro has formed a new division handling homes as low as $800,000. 'We are getting five to six calls a day to sell homes in that price range,' DeCaro said. 'It is just unbelievable.'"

"Others taking the auction route have not been so fortunate. David Douthitt's canal-front home in east Bradenton near Interstate 75, stalled in the midst of renovation with a stop-work order, drew one lonely bid of $100,000 on Saturday, far below the seller's reserve."

"Douthitt had previously been successful in having Herron's firm unload his other waterfront investment home, in Ellenton. With the north Manatee County home, 'It was a pretty substantial loss for me, but I needed to sell it,' Douthitt said."

"He could not believe the lack of interest in his Bradenton property. It is situated on a deep-water canal in the midst of $500,000-plus homes. 'Today's was absolutely stupid, $100,000,' Douthitt said. 'You can't even buy a vacant lot for $100,000.'"

"As is the case with the Holland's Venetian Falls Centex home, the seller at the downtown Marquee never moved in, and now wants out. The 29 units were originally priced at $800,000 and up. As at Venetian Falls, the developer still has units to sell, making life tougher for those trying for a resale."

"'That auction there, if somebody buys it at the bottom line, they are stealing it,' Herron said. 'The man is going to lose a tremendous amount of money.'"

"Herron's reserve auction in downtown Sarasota drew only one bidder. The auctioneer was able to start the bidding with a written offer for $500,000. The man in the room stopped bidding at $650,000, leaving the person on the phone with the final bid of $660,000."

"That price didn't meet the seller's reserve, Herron announced. But within an hour of the auction, the bidder came back with a slightly bigger offer and the seller accepted it. The seller, Herron said, 'wasn't happy about it but he signed it.'"