The Wall Street Journal reports on Florida. "In Florida, school principals, real-estate developers and economic-development officials are scrambling to solve a troubling mystery: Where did the kids go? The reason: School officials say that even though it has cooled in recent weeks, Florida's overheated housing market is pricing young families out of the state."

"In Tampa, principle Shari Beaubien blames her school's 10 percent enrollment dip on the conversion of four nearby apartment buildings to upscale condominiums. When the principal called the property managers last month, she was told 515 units were empty."

"'In some new-home neighborhoods in Florida, there are more 'for sale' or 'for rent' signs than there are drapes in the windows,' adds Jack McCabe, a real-estate consultant in Deerfield Beach, Fla."

"Debbie Terry, director of recruitment for the Collier County school system in Naples, says the district is suffering a 'double whammy' from steep real-estate prices. About 25 new teachers hired this summer later rescinded their contracts because they felt home prices in Naples were too high."

"Meanwhile, a growing number of more-experienced teachers have been selling their homes to lock in big profits made during the boom, and then moving to less-expensive places like south Georgia."

"Despite recent housing-price declines, including August decreases in 12 of 20 metro areas, economic-development officials worry that real-estate costs remain high enough to make it hard for at least some employers to recruit workers and expand their businesses."

The St Petersburg Times. "With new homes sales down about 20 percent and industry confidence at a 15-year low, builders and developers are sloughing off property they may no longer need. 'Many of the large builders have basically entered a no-buy phase,' said Beat Kahli, developer in Pasco County."

"A series of busted land deals reflect the new reality: Undisclosed developers bailed from plans to buy the 2,000-acre Cannon Ranch in Pasco County for more than $100-million. The land's California owners were left in the lurch, having paid $31-million for the State Road 52 property in 2004."

"Farther north, in Hernando County, Mercedes Homes pulled out of a contract in August to buy 416 acres near State Road 50. Up in smoke went a planned 900-home subdivision. Landowners' representatives said Mercedes cited slumping home sales."

"A contract for the 1,700-acre Kirkland Ranch near Wesley Chapel disintegrated in the summer. Diversified Property Group LLC would have paid the ranching family nearly $60-million but folded the deal in light of an uncertain home market."

"KB Home, active in about 20 projects in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, is negotiating to shed land in the Tampa Bay area. For national home builders like KB and Lennar, Wall Street looms large. Land sales can raise cash and restore investor confidence. Divestment lurks in corporate reports behind such jargon as 'managing our land portfolio.'"

"Kahli's experience illustrates the changing fortunes of land sellers. Last year he tried to buy land between Tampa and Orlando and was told to get in line. His was the 27th offer. He recently got a sheepish call from the same sellers. Would he still be interested in buying the land?" "'I said, 'What happened to the other 26?' Kahli said."

"Tampa Bay area housing analyst Marvin Rose figures it could take six to 18 months for prices to tumble. From the prospect of developers, asking prices reached ridiculous heights, leaving little room for profit. At market peak, some landowners, after discounting for wetlands, were demanding close to $100,000 per acre. 'We're still at last year's prices,' Rose said."

From MarketWatch. "People camped out for the chance to buy a unit in Radius, a condominium development in Hollywood, Fla. But that was in the summer of 2004, when the red-hot condo market was peaking."

"'You see some of these communities that investors purchased ... there are no lights on at night,' said Bill Donges, CEO of the developer of Radius."

"The lack of post-dusk illumination in some South Florida condo communities is a sign that many buyers never planned to move into the units they bought, he said. Their plans now: sweat."

"According to the NAR, inventory of existing condos and co-op homes rose to about an 8.6-month supply in August. 'The market is clearly oversupplied in many places,' said David Seiders, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. 'The key symptom of that has been on the price front. Prices have taken a hit.'"