The Florida realtors have their November numbers out. "Sales of existing homes and condos in Florida were down in November. A total of 11,912 existing single-family homes sold statewide last month, a decrease of 30 percent from the 17,088 homes sold during the previous November, according to the Florida Association of Realtors."

"The statewide existing-home median price was $242,500 last month; a year ago, it was $250,400 for a decrease of 3 percent, according to FAR. Florida's existing condominium sales also declined in November with a total of 3,346 condos sold statewide compared to 5,198 in November 2005 for a 36 percent decrease, according to FAR. The statewide median sales price for condos last month was $206,000; a year ago, it was $215,100 for a 4 percent decrease."

The Palm Beach Post. "Palm Beach County home prices took a big dip from their November 2005 peak, the Florida Association of Realtors said today. The median price for an existing single-family home sold in November was $370,400, down 12 percent from $421,500 a year earlier. Home sales plunged 45 percent."

The News Press. "Prices and the number of sales continued to fall in November for existing single-family homes in Lee County. The median price of a home sold fell 12 percent from November 2005, from $295,400 to $258,600, while the number of sales was down 21 percent from 810 to 637."

"In Collier County, the median price fell 13 percent from $479,800 to $415,200 while the number of sales fell 45 percent from 333 to 182. Charlotte County had an 8 percent fall in the median price from $236,900 to $217,300 while the number of homes sold fell 21 percent from 245 to 194."

From Florida Today. "Housing prices continued to fall last month in Brevard County. The median sales price of existing homes in Brevard County dropped to $203,400 in November, down 12 percent from November 2005."

"Condominium prices in Brevard, meanwhile, fell to a median of $170,000 in November, down 15 percent from November 2005. The number of condominiums sales in Brevared plummeted to 33 in November, down 78 percent from a year earlier."

"Statewide, single-family home and condo prices fell last month in 13 of the 20 metro areas tracked by the Florida Association of Realtors."

The South Florida Business Journal. "The median price of a single-family, existing home in November fell: 7 percent to $362,000 from $391,100 in Fort Lauderdale. 2 percent to $372,400."

The St Petersburg Times. "Tampa Bay area builders, using incentives and price cuts to restore some semblance of sales stability, can't say for sure when they expect the slowdown to end."

"Transeastern Homes: The builder has tried to stave off bankruptcy by laying off more than 100 and dismissing regional president Bob Krieff. Ryland Homes: Heavily invested in Pasco County, saw new home orders tank 64 percent from the third quarter of 2005 to the third quarter of 2006."

"Centex Homes: Centex's home contracts plunged 53 percent. Beazer Homes: The company said new home orders dropped by a third in Florida. Its stronghold has been southeast Hillsborough County. Pulte Homes: Based on its latest report, the nation's second-biggest homebuilder sold 29 percent fewer homes in the region that includes Florida. It has trimmed its work force 10 percent."

The Herald Tribune. "Economist Paul Kasriel refers to a fairly simple formula: take the dollar value of new and existing single-family homes in 2005 and divide it by the nation's gross domestic product, the total of all goods and services produced in one year. That gives you a ratio of 16.3 percent."

"'That's off the scale,' Kasriel said. 'The ratio has never been that high. The median is 8.4 percent and the previous high, of less than 12 percent, was in the late 1970s.'"

"Real estate prices have been dropping faster than ever before. The NAR said last month that the median price in October for existing homes fell a steep 3.5 percent from October 2005. 'That's the largest decline on record since 1968, and the speed of the decline has been breathtaking,' Kasriel said. 'It's just like a straight line down.'"

"Lawrence Yun, an economist with the National Association of Realtors, concedes that housing prices in certain areas, including Southwest Florida, 'have gotten ahead of themselves, we don't see the sector tipping the economy into recession.'"

"'It's psychology, people are waiting to see when the bottom is coming,' Yun said. 'Due to dropping rates and dropping prices, it's only a matter of time.'"

From Reuters. "On a piece of prime bayfront property near downtown Miami, weeds climb the steps of the sales office for Onyx 2, a planned waterview condo where apartments were to sell for $500,000 to $2,000,000."

"Developers have pulled the plug on some of Miami's most anticipated condominium developments. 'This market was too good to be true,' said Lewis Goodkin, a Miami economist and real estate analyst. 'But it was a market fueled by speculators, so it wasn't a true market.'"

"The seller of a Miami Beach waterfront one-bedroom dropped his asking price from $445,000 to $400,000 to $370,000 in a matter of weeks. 'We're starting to see projects being canceled almost on a weekly basis,' said consultant Jack McCabe."

"'You have to have people buying units to live in. Who are the speculators going to sell these units to?' Goodkin said."