The Myrtle Beach Online from South Carolina. "Sales for homes and condominiums fell again in August on the Grand Strand. Home sales dropped 22 percent and condo sales dropped 52 percent compared to August 2005. 'Believe it or not, prices have not gone down. It's just that inventories have gone crazy,' said Bill Barrett, who spoke during the S.C. Association of Realtors annual convention in Myrtle Beach on Tuesday."

"On the Strand, there's about a year's worth of inventory on the market, said market analyst Tom Maeser. Maeser expects inventory to be absorbed once the market gets more permanent home and second home purchasers. That's because the market has lost the rental income investor as its main buyer, Maeser said."

"Barrett told agents it's better to call a buyer's market a 'corrected market,' because the market is experiencing a correction."

From the Ledger in Florida. "Polk County's building permit numbers dropped a record 62 percent last month to 373. Richard Greenwood, Haines City's community development director, is making plans to accommodate possibly 1,400 homes into the city. 'It won't be slow for long,' he said. 'I've got a lot in the pipeline.'"

"'I think the market retracted,' said Mike Hickman, president of Hickman Homes in Lakeland. 'The frenzy last year couldn't sustain. There is a lot of inventory out there.'"

"Builders are pushing sales and offering many incentives to new home buyers to rid themselves of the excess inventory. When fall and winter come, the market takes an even cooler turn. 'We are really trying to push sales right now,' said Callie Neslund with Southern Homes. 'When November comes, no one wants to go anywhere.'"

The Daytona Beach News Journal reports from Florida. "Rising interest rates, coupled with surging property taxes and insurance bills, are making it impossible for hundreds of area families to keep up with their mortgage payments, housing counselors say. As a result, growing numbers of new homeowners are in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure."

"Banks and other lenders have filed 2,354 foreclosure lawsuits against property owners in Volusia and Flagler counties over the past 12 months. That's 26 percent more than the 1,868 that were filed the previous 12 months. Filings grew markedly higher last month, 199 in Volusia compared to 115 the previous August, and 56 in Flagler, up from 19 a year earlier."

"Credit counselor Greg Kiefer said the seeds of today's foreclosure surge were sown about three years ago when home buyers rushed into adjustable-rate mortgages, trying to meet soaring housing prices on stretched budgets. 'They had a fixed low rate for two or three years and that got them into a house,' Kiefer said. 'Then the mortgage became adjustable just as rates started to rise, and their monthly payments have gone up substantially. We would anticipate that as rates continue to rise, it's just going to get worse.'"

"Mid-Florida Housing Partnership points a finger at lenders specializing in mortgages for high-risk clients. 'Their methods are borderline predatory,' said Fran Gordon, the partnership's executive director. 'They say 'Come on in and we'll do whatever it takes to get you a mortgage.' They don't care what the applicant's credit score is or what their income is. These lenders are going to pick up their fees at the closing, so they don't care what happens afterward.'"

"In many cases, Kiefer said, the homeowner facing foreclosure obtained a mortgage by just giving a rough estimate of his or her income on the loan application. Some lenders don't bother to verify an income figure if it seems reasonable for the person's occupation and the person has satisfactory credit."

"Kiefer described the plight of a Deltona couple who had recently started a landscaping business moved into a home with a $1,000-a-month interest-only mortgage payment. After one year, the interest-only period ended, and the loan became an adjustable-rate mortgage. The monthly payment shot up past $1,600, but their business is clearing only about $2,000 a month. Even though relatives have lent them money, they have missed four mortgage payments."

"Kiefer said foreclosure seems inevitable. 'Even if they filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, that process still requires them to make their mortgage payments, and there's no way they can do that on their income,' he said."

"Linda Jones, Volusia County's deputy court clerk, said, 'We've been having quite a few more homes come up for foreclosure in the last six months or so.' About three to six properties are being scheduled for auction almost every weekday."

"At a Sept. 15 auction, no one made any offers except a young man who submitted two $100 bids, the minimum allowed, and was declared the winner of the two houses put up for sale. Jones explained he was a process server who simply was entering bids on behalf of the mortgage companies to protect their interest in the properties. By taking ownership of the houses, the lenders could try to resell them later and get at least some of their money back."