The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "The torrent of unpalatable real estate data is enough to ruin some folks' holiday appetite. But there might be some good news despite the fact that the Sarasota-Bradenton market led the state in the third quarter with an 11 percent erosion in median sales price."

"Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties seem, so far, to be bucking a trend of rising foreclosures. The three-county area registered 997 foreclosures during the third quarter. That was an increase of about 32 percent from the second quarter but down 30 percent when compared with the same time last year."

"But others said that this apparent drop in folks unable to make their mortgage obligations could be just the breath before the dive. Peter Lyddy, a licensed mortgage broker, sees 'things getting worse before they get better, especially for homeowners with ARMs that are likely to reset at higher rates in the coming year.'"

"Lyddy noted that October's 430 foreclosures were nearly 17 percent higher than last year's 368, and that additional increases are possible in a rising interest rate environment."

The News Press. "Ken Smith's family should have celebrated Thanksgiving in their new Lehigh home. Instead, Smith, and his wife, Barbara Pandoff's $185,000 dream home in Lehigh Acres is only a skeleton. It was to be ready by last spring. The couple have paid $63,575 on a home that likely won't be built. Smith is out money from the sale of real estate, including a four-unit apartment building."

"They are not alone in their plight. More than 100 people who paid thousands of dollars in down payments for homes that either haven't been built or haven't even been started. Builder Richard Leli of Fort Myers-based RL Homes says he's broke and won't have the money to finish some 120 projects in various stages of completion or never started."

"'It all happened due to several factors, especially mismanagement from my part,' Leli said from his nearly abandoned office. Leli said he called his customers with a simple message: The money is gone."

"'This guy is taking people's money and running away with it," said Freddie Alicea, who along with wife is out a $20,000 down payment."

"Subcontractors Ari Herrera and wife Carrie, say they have wiped out their savings and are owed nearly $80,000 by Leli for work on homes. They have placed liens on Leli property, including a $500,000 house in Naples and two New Jersey properties worth more than $700,000."

"Leli agreed in 2004 to build Alicea a home for $197,000, Alicea said. Now he's not even sure he can get his down payment back. Fort Myers attorney Henry Andreasen, who represented the couple, was told by Leli that there was no money for restitution."

"'The further along the house is, the more complicated and the worse position the homeowners are in,' Andreasen said."

"If the builder doesn't pay, subcontractors, such as the Herreras, could begin chasing the homeowner, the lawyer said. In Smith's case, $27,000 in liens have been placed against his unfinished home for money subcontractors say Leli owes them."

"The couple have little money to pursue Leli legally but are hopeful the state will take up the case. 'We spent everything on our house,' Pandoff said."

From WWAY TV 3 in North Carolina. "First-time homebuyers Cal and Seanna Morgan are looking to buy a house in Wilmington and they are experiencing first-hand the softer real estate market."

"Cal said, 'I've found that prices have leveled off, instead of going up $10,000 per house every time one sells in the neighborhood. They've kind of leveled off. And that's good for us in a sense that we're buying, but bad for us in a sense that we're selling.'"

"'We're seeing some builders and developers offer incentives like paying the interest on a property for a year for the buyer. Maybe doing some extras like a plasma TV or appliances, that kind of thing. You are seeing some incentives like that,' (broker) Jim Wallace said."

"The reason? To attract buyers. In September of this year the number of homes listed was up 11 percent over the same time last year. But the number of homes sold was down 28 percent. Another tell-tale sign: houses are sitting on the market longer, up 28 percent over last year."

"As Jim Wallace says, the flip has flopped. 'There were people buying these houses during the boom period, second homes, that really never intended to stay one night in them. They bought them to put them back on the market six months or a year later to make a profit. Those people are on the sidelines now,' Wallace said."