The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Sarasota-Bradenton home sellers are cutting prices so aggressively that the median sales price was 18 percent lower this November than last, the biggest drop in the state. The median sales price for Sarasota-Bradenton fell from $343,600 in November 2005 to $281,900 last month."

"After asking $549,000 for their Venice home starting in June, Cindy Gerber said she and her husband did a discount MLS listing of their own at $397,000. They really needed to sell, since they have purchased an English Tudor near Johnson City, Tenn."

"'We needed to move on, and we said, 'The only way to do it is to take a loss and go,' she said."

"The Charlotte County market has so frustrated Dave Bonham that he moved his family to Idaho. He has been trying to sell his house since August 2005, and so far all he has to show for it are four price reductions and one failed deal. 'We just had a little bit of poor timing there,' said Bonham. He got it appraised for $285,000 and listed it for $279,000. Two expired listings and an attempted auction later, his price is $219,000."

"'Nothing has really changed as far as people moving here,' said Bonham. 'The difference, is where each buyer had three houses to choose from, suddenly each buyer has 30 houses to choose from.'"

The Miami Herald. "South Florida home sellers dropped prices last month to combat a buyer's market that has taken firm hold of the real estate industry this year. 'If you look at the skyline, a lot of those buildings have not been finished,' real estate analyst Jack Winston said. 'We know 70 to 80 percent of those buyers were speculators. They're going to have to face the music.'"

"Broker Andy Weiser recently closed a deal for a condominium in Fort Lauderdale's upscale Victoria Park neighborhood that sat on the market for eight months with a $319,000 price tag. When the seller agreed to drop the asking price down to $295,000, the two-bedroom unit sold within two weeks for $290,000."

"'If sellers aren't repositioning their property to reflect current conditions, they're out of their minds,' said Weiser. 'I'm pricing things approximately 10 percent less than I was pricing things last year, which doesn't make everyone happy -- especially if you bought last year.'"

The Ledger. "Polk County's existing home sales have: dropped, declined, slumped, plummeted, fallen and tanked. How ever you want to describe it, the sales figures have done it for the sixth consecutive month. 'It's obvious we have a lot of inventory,' said Meg Loftheim, a Realtor in Lakeland. 'We have buyers out there, but I get the feeling that they are waiting for something to go lower.'"

From Florida Today. "The median sales price for an existing single-family house in Brevard County was down 18 percent from $248,700 in August 2005, when local housing prices peaked, statistics show."

"In many cases, people 'have to realize they can't sell their house for what properties have been selling for in 2004 and 2005,' said Betty McCluskey, broker in Suntree. 'They have to be realistic, and bring prices down to attract buyers, because there's a vast inventory of houses and so much competition.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "Broward County existing home sales and median prices kept declining last month. The county's median price was $362,000 last month, down $29,100, or 7 percent, from a record $391,100 in November 2005. As the inventory of homes piles up, many sellers are getting nervous and slashing prices to attract buyers."

"'Sellers are in a place where they haven't been for a number of years -- over a barrel,' analyst Mike Larson said."

"Marilynn Obrig, an agent in Fort Lauderdale, said she sees real estate speculators putting their homes back on the market, which is affecting inventory. 'Buyers seem to be waiting to see when the bottom's going to be,' she said."

The Palm Beach Post. "The median price for an existing single-family home sold in November in Palm Beach County was $370,400, down 12 percent from the November 2005 peak of $421,500. The number of homes sold plunged 45 percent in Palm Beach County, with 525 sales last month compared with 952 in November 2005. In central and northern Palm Beach County, more than 22,000 houses and condos were on the market in November, double the number in November 2005, said Bob Graeve, an agent in Palm Beach Gardens."

"'We still have a bunch of inventory, and until it's absorbed prices are going to be soft,' Graeve said."

"(Broker) Douglas Rill in West Palm Beach, sees trouble in the glut of listings. About 31,000 homes and condos are for sale in all of Palm Beach County, dramatically more than the 7,000 homes on the market in late 2004. Sales aren't keeping pace with the growing number of for-sale signs. 'It's still very, very quiet,' Rill said."

The Orlando Sentinel. "The weakest metro area was Naples, with a 45 percent plunge in sales and the median falling 13 percent to $415,200. 'It's difficult to sell an existing home because of all the competition from new home builders,' said Dean Palombi, a broker in east Orlando. Palombi said the area he specializes in, Stoneybrook, Eastwood, Waterford Lakes and Avalon, probably has at least 1,000 homes for sale within five miles. But most sellers, he said, either will not or cannot slash their prices."

"'Part of the reason is that a lot of people went in and financed at 90 percent and they can't just give it away for 20 percent less,' he said."

The News Press. "The number of existing homes sold in November in Lee County was 637, down from 1,084 in December 2005. 'They’re continuing to wait to see how low this market will go,' said agent David Drabik. 'They’ll go out and look and want to make an offer and they’ll go home and say, ‘I’ll think about it.’ They’re waiting to hit the absolute market bottom.'"

"Although prices have fallen, analyst Jack McCabe said, 'it’s a much better time to rent. You can rent a property for 55 to 70 percent of the ownership costs would be, even factoring in your federal income tax deduction.'"

"Besides, he said, 'there’s a huge credit bubble out there right now' with about $2 trillion worth of adjustable-rate mortgages that will have to be adjusted to current market rates in the next two years. That could trigger a wave of foreclosures as people have to give up houses they no longer can afford, McCabe said."