The Florida press reacts to the new sales numbers. "'Reality-based pricing' has hit the Charlotte County real estate market. Market forces are slowly overwhelming the desire of many sellers to hold out for the highest possible price."

"Kristine Wishard, president of the Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port Association of Realtors, said, 'When one of our agents goes out to list a home,..you often have to overcome the seller's idea of what they'd like to list their property at,' she said. In other words: The boom is over. Get over it."

The Herald Tribune. "For the second month in a row, the Sarasota-Bradenton market posted a double-digit drop in median sales price. 'They are just not selling out here,' said real estate agent Bradford Hanley as he showed off his client's 3,500-square-foot home. Hanley has been trying to move the house since February 2005. He started at $849,000. Next he got the owner to trim to $820,000. For the last two weeks, they have been trying $799,000. 'We had a contract. It fell through. This is my longest listing,' Hanley said."

"Meanwhile, to his chagrin, a couple of neighbors only a few houses away just listed their house, a comparable abode with 500 square feet more, for the same price of $799,000. 'It's the lowest square footage price in the neighborhood,' said co-owner Suzie Williams."

"Sarasota-Bradenton's inventory levels remain seriously high, with about 9,500 homes and condos for sale. At the present clip, it would take nearly two years to sell off just the existing inventory, assuming no more homes come onto the market. So far, the listing rate has been growing at about 1,500 or so each month."

The St Petersburg Times. "Home sales have plunged and inventories have skyrocketed, according to statistics. In the Tampa Bay area, there were more than three times as many active listings in August as there were a year ago. 'I had one of the worst summers ever,' said (realtor) Lisa Levison. 'There’s no demand.'"

"'I had a listing in Madeira Beach three blocks from the beach that we had under contract in February at $275,000 when the seller decided to take it off the market,' she said. 'It was relisted for $249,900 and now it’s under contract for significantly less.'"

From Florida Today. "The Brevard County real estate market didn't show any signs of bouncing back in August. Gene Collins, president of the Melbourne Area Association of Realtors, said there currently are about 7,700 single-family homes, 2,400 condominiums and 700 townhomes listed for sale in Brevard."

"'By historical standards, that's twice or three times the normal level,' Collins said."

"Gail MacMillan, a broker associate in Titusville, said, 'They're just a bit afraid of what all the people in the media are saying about the market. We're not going back three years ago,' she said. 'That's not going to happen. This area had been tremendously undervalued.'"

"'We've been in business for 22 years, and we've seen these things come and go,' said Colleen Barneman, president of BSS Exteriors in Melbourne. 'I don't think it's been quite this slow before.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "The price of an existing home in Palm Beach County dropped for the first time in more than seven years, while the number of unsold homes has more than tripled in a year. In August, 28,182 homes were for sale. 'There isn't much positive to highlight,' said Mike Larson, an analyst in Jupiter. 'And all that occurred despite a recent downtick in interest rates and a general lack of serious hurricane activity.'"

"'Affordability in its broadest sense is the number one concern,' said Manuel Iraola, president of an online real estate company. 'It is easy to buy the elephant,' Iraola said. 'The challenge is to feed the elephant in an environment where wages and income are not keeping up with outrageous property taxes, property insurance and overall energy costs.'"

The News Press. "With more than 12,000 homes on the market in Lee County, triple the inventory of a year ago, the number of buyers is about what it was three years ago, real estate broker Brett Ellis said. 'We just have too many sellers and sometime we have to start eating into the inventory,' Ellis said."

"Real-estate agent Ernie Horvath said he thinks it will take a year for more houses to sell, as new home builders try to move their stock. 'A lot of builders are starting to seriously discount their homes,' Horvath said."

The Miami Herald. "Sherri Wells put her one-bedroom waterfront condominium in Fort Lauderdale up for sale in February. Seven months and four price cuts later, she's still waiting for a buyer. She and many other home sellers are by now all too familiar with the languid pace of South Florida's housing market, which continued through August with no end in sight."

"'At first I would at least get four or five calls over a weekend,' said Wells. 'Now I am not getting any calls.'"

"After Wells moved out, her property tax increases for the condo were no longer capped because it was no longer her primary residence. As a result, she said her property taxes shot up from $890 a year to more than $4,000."

"'There is no way I could ever charge enough rent to cover what the mortgage and taxes have become,' she said. 'I am trying to sell as soon as I can.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "In Tequesta, in northern Palm Beach County, agent Mary Hankey has a client who held an auction Saturday to sell his two-bedroom home. The suggested opening bid was $275,000, and the list price is $450,000. Two bidders stepped forward, but negotiations continue." "Hankey said property taxes and insurance are holding back buyers. 'Buyers are very scared,' Hankey said. 'They're almost an extinct breed right now.'"

"The number of Broward homes and condos for sale in August was nearly 39,000, a 145 percent increase over last August. Michael Kaye of Cooper City, listed his house a few months ago for $399,500 before reducing it to $387,000. He said he's still lucky to have one showing a week."

"'If I were to keep lowering the price, it wouldn't even help,' Kaye said. 'Right now it's just a lack of buyers.'"

"Marilynn Obrig, a Fort Lauderdale agent said, 'Houses that look good and are priced right are selling.' But Delray Beach analyst David Levin said, 'I think it's overly optimistic to say we've reached equilibrium in the marketplace.'"