The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the condo bust. "A major condominium developer put plans for his 30-story Marina View Towers on hold yesterday, complaining that a softening market has made it hard to hold prices high enough to cover rising construction costs. 'It has suddenly become a buyers' market,' said developer Louis Cicalese."

"Site preparation had started for the $119 million building next to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge overlooking the Delaware River. The decision is the strongest sign yet that the Center City residential condominium market, red-hot for two years, has cooled."

"The DePaul Group of Blue Bell, meanwhile, said in a recent interview it would wait until January to decide when to build a second luxury condominium tower."

"While two major developers are pressing ahead, others are becoming cautious and complaining that media coverage of whether the condo market is in a boom or a bubble is causing the problem. Tim Mahoney said yesterday he was looking for ways to 'take some of the risks out' of a 57-story condo skyscraper that he and partner Brook J. Lenfest have planned at 15th and Chestnut Streets."

"Mahoney and Lenfest put the project, which has cleared all government hurdles, up for sale in June, when the market was hot and brokers were predicting it would fetch $60 million."

"Yesterday, Mahoney said he was exploring new ways to build the tower himself, adding that it is still on the market, but that 'I don't think we're going to get a number that appeals to us.' Mahoney grumbled that media coverage pondering whether the boom would soon cool has, at least for now, produced a 'self-fulfilling prophecy.'"

"Joanne Davidow, manager of the office of the Prudential Fox & Roach real estate firm, said 'the demand is still there' but the market has quickly changed. 'One minute we're amazingly busy, then there were a lot of articles asking, 'Is this a boom or bubble?' I'm not surprised some are taking a step back..to see if prices will go down,' Davidow said."

"For now, Marina View developer Cicalese said, At times like these, he said, 'the fact is you need to be careful.'"