Myrtle Beach Online reports from South Carolina. "Skyrocketing insurance premiums and steadily growing inventory have sent real estate sales tumbling on the Grand Strand. Single-family home sales dropped 20 percent to 428 in October from 538 in October 2005, according to the MLS for Horry and Georgetown counties."

"Condominium sales dropped 34 percent to 423 from 640 last October. 'In my opinion, that's going to be a continuing trend,' said (broker) Greg Harrelson."

"Most real estate agents say prices are being cut in certain segments of the home and condo market and motivated sellers are offering big incentives. The market has completely 'done a 180-degree turn from a year ago,' so large sales drops aren't surprising, said (broker) Dale Johnson."

"'Last year, there was still a tremendous amount of investor interest in the Myrtle Beach area [in October]. But this year, the investor has totally left the market,' Johnson said."

"Some condominium owners are having to pay as much as seven times the amount of insurance that they paid a year ago. 'I give insurance a lot of blame for the condo market,' said Tom Maeser, market analyst. Indeed, insurance rates are going to lead to foreclosures, Johnson said. 'If they can't get insurance, they won't buy,' he said."

"Harrelson said agents need to be prudent about what price they're listing homes and condos at. Many sellers are just listing property at a high price to see if it will sell, he said."

"'I tell my agents, 'Let's not take overpriced listings. It hurts the real estate agent, the real estate company, and it hurts the consumer. It oversaturates the market. If we took those [units] off, supply levels would go down,' he said."

"Johnson said even price reductions as much as 30 percent are not necessarily making a difference to buyers. 'I just think that everybody is waiting. The only people buying and selling are those that have to,' he said."

From TC Palm in Florida. "Levitt Corp., the parent company of Tradition builder Core Communities, reported that orders companywide for new homes decreased 19.3 percent in the recently completed third quarter from the same period in 2005."

"'This remains one of the most difficult periods for the U.S. housing market in over a decade and Levitt's results reflect the challenges of the current operating environment,' Levitt CEO Alan Levan said. 'The homebuilding trends in Florida, where most of our inventory is concentrated, continues to be severely impacted as evidenced by slowing demand, declining new orders, lower conversion rates, and an increase in forfeited deposits on homes under contract.'"

"Despite the concerns from Levitt, the company is looking positively at the future of its Tradition communities. Core Communities has recently broken ground for the 9,500 home Tradition South Carolina, near Hilton Head."

The Herald Tribune. "Some might view the timing as classic: coming to town to inspire depressed real estate agents just as your mortgage company's stock drops to a near-52-week low on poor earnings results complicated by Florida's sagging real estate fortunes."

"Ike Reighard, HomeBanc's executive VP and 'chief people officer.' HomeBanc has been active in Sarasota for about three years, employing 26."

"In an unusual mix of marketing, motivation and timing, Reighard visited Sarasota on Wednesday to speak to several hundred real estate professionals. His Atlanta-based HomeBanc, meanwhile, said that next year it would no longer operate as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, because of adverse market conditions."

"He told the audience at downtown Sarasota's University Club that he was there developing relationships for HomeBanc and to 'breathe life into your dreams.' Reighard offered tips to 'exchange ordinary living into an extraordinary life,' through 'big hairy audacious goal setting.' 'Negative people suck the life out of me,' he said."

"Some analysts on Wall Street this week might have fit that description for Reighard. Analyst David C. Stumpf downgraded HomeBanc's stock. The decision to 'de-REIT' would allow the company, Stumpf said, to 'significantly cut or possibly eliminate its dividend next year in an effort to preserve capital until the operating environment improves.'"

"Analyst Andrew Wessel said that the company's heavy exposure to Florida means a recovery in origination volumes will not happen any time soon."