The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Prices remain the story in home sales, with Sarasota-Bradenton prices falling 18 percent in October, the second biggest drop in the state. The Charlotte County-North Port market was not far behind, with a drop of 17 percent, from $243,900 to $202,800."

"Only Fort Myers-Cape Coral took a bigger fall, posting a 44 percent decline in median sales price, from $445,100 to $249,200, the Florida Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday."

"Chad Roffers, president of Sarasota-based Sky Sotheby's Realty, said the price decline goes hand in hand with slowing sales. 'An 18 percent decrease feels about right. We're seeing unit sales down by a third across the board and prices off by 20 percent from the peak in mid-2005,' said Chad Roffers, president of Sarasota-based Sky Sotheby's. 'Those sellers who accept that level of value are seeing action. Those who hold out for 2005 prices are not.'"

"Budge Huskey, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, is not convinced that prices are done declining. 'Sell now; you may get less in three months than today.'"

"Sales of condominiums in the Sarasota-Bradenton market were off 51 percent from the same time a year ago. The median sales price dropped 27 percent, from $294,000 to $216,000. 'Condos always go belly up when economy gets sluggish,' said (realtor) Barbara Anson."

"'We now have to come back to reality,' she said. 'I am explaining to my sellers in Myakka that the bubble has busted. They're not going to get $350,000-$400,000 for a 10-acre parcel like they used to. They'll get $200,000.'"

"'All I can say is nothing in my neighborhood is moving,' Yetta Levitt said, noting that one of the less expensive, nonwaterfront homes in her 210-home subdivision sold last month for $410,000. 'Prior to that sale, I believe the last sale was November 2005.'"

The Miami Herald. "The median price for existing single-family homes in Miami-Dade dropped to $356,000 in October, the lowest since August last year. In Broward, prices went down to $349,400, the lowest since April last year."

"Ronald Shuffield, president of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell, contends that people who buy now may still see prices go down in 2007, as the market digests the enormous number of homes for sale. Nearly 65,000 homes are now listed for sale in South Florida, from 25,174 a year ago. The antidote, some industry players and watchers say, is still for prices to come down."

The Sun Sentinel. "Palm Beach County's October median declined $50,900, or 12 percent, on an annual basis, and experts say prices will keep falling into 2007."

"Prices actually have fallen even more than that because sellers are giving buyers lucrative incentives, that aren't reflected in the sales prices, analyst Jack McCabe said. 'Sellers are not getting all that money in value for their properties because they're having to pay a big chunk of that out as concessions,' he said."

The News Press. "Lee County’s housing market continued to slow in October, with sales and prices down and the inventory of homes for sale still going up. The median price of an existing home sold with the help of a Realtor was $249,200 in October, down 4.7 percent from $261,400 in September. People selling their homes in Lee County have seen prices fall steadily since the median price reached an all-time high of $322,300 in December 2005."

"The number of homes on the market in the county in October was 13,260, almost five times what it was in October 2004."

"In Collier County, the median price was down 17 percent from October 2005 to $420,000 and the number of sales fell 27 percent to 204. Charlotte County’s median price fell 17 percent to $202,800."

"Warren and Tracy Pearce sold their three-bedroom, two-bath, lakeside house in North Fort Myers recently to move into a condo. 'We'd had it for sale since February,' he said, but at the initial asking price of more than $400,000 there were no takers."

"The Pearces' agent got them to reduce the asking price, it finally sold for $289,000. The Pearces paid $170,000 for the house 31/2 years ago."

"When sellers are unable to get the price they need, agent Michael Burke said, increasingly, 'It's Plan B: rent it.' Owners usually can't break even on the expenses of keeping the home, he said, 'but they're easing the pain.'"

From Florida Today. "Brevard County's housing market continued to slow in October compared with the same period a year ago. Condominium sales year over year plunged 69 percent, falling to 85 transactions from 273 in October 2005. The median sales price for condominiums in Brevard dropped 17 percent."

"'We still have to convince sellers we're in a new phase and the asking prices they had last year are probably not realistic now,' said Gene Collins, president of the Melbourne Area Association of Realtors. Daryl Adkins of Indialantic has been trying to sell his three-bedroom home for more than a year and has dropped his original asking price of $325,000 to $238,500."

"'It's slow all over the county because there is so much on the market,' Adkins said, adding higher taxes and insurance costs 'aren't doing us any justice either.'"

The Daytona Beach News Journal. "Gertrude Butler and her husband have been trying to sell their house since April, dropping the price twice, so they can move back to Delaware to be near their family. But, Butler said, 'If we don't sell this house, we won't be going anywhere.'"

"The Butlers have dropped their price $12,900 in seven months. They started out asking $289,900, and now are asking $277,000 for their three-bedroom, two-bath, lakefront home in the Cypress Cove subdivision. 'We've had people look and even a few really low offers,' Butler said, admitting she feels discouraged."

The Nassau Neighbors. "Jeff Timian was sure he was making a good investment this year when he bought and renovated a house in Fernandina Beach. But now, after the house has sat on the market for months, Timian's sure thing isn't so sure. He's now offering it for sale below its appraised value."

"This week it's down to $225,000, he said. 'I'm not going too much below $225,000. At that point, I still make money,' he said."

"Sales of single-family existing houses in the Jacksonville area, which includes Nassau Countym dropped 18 percent between July and September as compared to the same quarter in 2005. Condominiums fared worse. Sales plunged 49 percent between the same period in 2005."

"Lou Goldman is the sales manager for a Yulee marshside subdivision. He said the current buyer's market is a cycle that recurs in the real-estate industry, Goldman said. What complicates it is that the most recent 'boom' phase lasted a lot longer than usual, he said."

"'From 1992 to 2005 was the longest run there's been,' he said. 'Most people don't remember what it was like the last time it plateaued. The last one was from 1990 to 1992. This is a buyer's market. You don't have the urgency you have when there's a seller's market, because the prices aren't going up.'"