The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "The newest single-family home community in the village will add 264 high-end homes to the State Road 7 corridor at prices once found only in Wellington's large-lot communities. A partnership between Centex Homes and Engle Homes, is planning to build the community."

"Some real estate agents privately bemoaned the development of more homes in an already-saturated market. The Florida Association of Realtors show a 47-month supply of homes for sale."

"Homes in the community, named Castellina, will range from $600,000 to $1 million for 3,100 to 6,070 square feet of space. The $600,000 starting price is almost double that of Palm Beach County's current median sales price of $365,500. But Castellina will be in good company. Last week, the Realtors' MLS showed about 170 houses with roughly the same asking prices in neighborhoods along State Road 7."

"'A million-dollar home doesn't have to be a $700,000 home that's now priced at $1 million just because the market says so,' Lewis Birnbaum, division president of Centex Homes said. 'There's a lot of homes on the market whose prices are really inflated.'"

"Housing analyst Jack McCabe said Castellina presents challenges. 'These are very large houses with minimal distance between them,' McCabe said. 'My own opinion is this is going to be a very challenged project.'"

The Tampa Tribune. "Undeterred by the cooling housing market, a Tampa developer wants to build his third condo project in the growing Channel District. Ken Stoltenberg has proposed a 120-unit condo tower in the heart of the Channel District."

"'You have to look out into the future,' Stoltenberg said. 'You can't look at what's happening over the past three months and extrapolate what's going to happen for years.'"

"Steven Bartlett, president and owner of the Spring Hill-based Coral Bay Homes, has turned himself into the Hernando County Jail after a warrant was issued for his arrest last week. With more than $1,000,000 in claims from 134 victims, investigators say Coral Bay Homes could be the largest home building scheme in Florida."

"Home builders need to take responsibility for their financial state, Assistant State Attorney Phil Hanson said 'A builder can't be an ostrich and stick his head in the sand,' he said. 'They can't say I didn't know where I stood.'"

"With Florida's soaring housing market coming in for a landing, government economists said Tuesday the state will have lower tax collections next year than previously expected. The state's consensus estimate for next year's incoming general revenue dropped by $466 million on Tuesday, almost entirely because of the slowdown in what had been a booming housing market."

"Economists have noted the slowing housing market, and have warned for more than a year that the pace of sales would soon slow. 'This is just more intense than what we anticipated,' said Amy Baker, for the Legislature. She said that while the housing market is cooling off nationally, the retrenchment is hitting Florida particularly hard because of lots of speculative home building here."

The St Petersburg Times. "Michael Cremeans opened his business in March this year with $50,000 and a whole bunch of hope. His Owl's Nest Cafe was smack in the heart of Pasco Professional Place, a New Port Richey building that is also the headquarters for developer Lexington Homes."

"Three weeks ago, his hopes died. He had to close his cafe after Lexington Homes laid off 80 of its 135 employees. 'I depended a lot on Lexington,' he said. 'The building emptied out. At some point, I said, 'I've got to stop the bleeding.'"

"Developers warn the worst is yet to come, as they expect to build about 40 percent fewer new homes next year. Major builders, like Ryland Homes, say it won't be until 2008 that the residential market picks up again."

"Some retailers are already postponing plans for more stores, dallying where they would have rushed in before. Last month, Wal-Mart put on hold plans to build a supercenter in Dade City because the company wanted to see more 'maturation' in the housing market there, its officials said."

"As for developers, Lexington Homes is not alone in laying off employees. Builders big and small, from Pulte Homes to Southern Image Homes, have slashed their work forces. Down the production chain, contractors and subcontractors are hurting too."

The Sun News from South Carolina. "More homes on the market and price cuts make today's housing market ripe for first-time homebuyers, real estate agents say. 'Get the Facts' will be a one-hour free informational session held tonight in Conway. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac created the 'Get the Facts' program."

"'A 20 percent down payment and perfect credit are no longer the industry standards for getting a mortgage,' said Theresa Ross, certified consumer credit counselor at the resource center. 'Today, in most situations $500 is all an individual needs to put down in order to purchase their first home.'"

"Ross said it's important to look at your budget and decide what kind of mortgage payment you can afford. 'We want people to be able to live in their homes and not for their homes. Lenders always qualify you for more than what you can afford,' she said."

"Rachel Broadhurst said her company recently held a first-time homebuyer workshop. 'It's time for them to start to looking around because there's some good buys coming up out there right now. People are trying to get rid of inventory so there's a lot to choose from,' Broadhurst said. 'Prices are down and there's more to choose from,' she said."